2012 Rocky Mountain Fishing Conditions

[tone capone]

Several nice 13-17 inch browns and 10-15 inch bows on the Gally again yesterday. It seems like there are more and more browns hiding behind the rocks over the years. You'll catch a couple nice ones out of one section of pocket water were there used to be a couple 10 to 12 inch rainbows. Still a good number of rainbows and they seem a little bigger than aveage, but the numbers seem to be evening out between them in the lower canyon. All the fish are very jumpy right now when hooked! I also saw one very big, dark colored, shark looking Brown chase a streamer in a big pool I was standing at the tailout of. Yikes!

[Lone Star]

decided to skip the big big water below Fontenelle and do some wading on some of the great public access around big pooney. Got taken to the end of my backing on a side channel with a nymph, tons and tons of smaller fish rising throughout the day. on top, the most action was with a mayfly emerger dropper at the moment dead drift turned into drag. once again, didn't see a single soul 'cept the token spin-caster, content with sitting down and fishing from the closest big rock to the parking area.

[schwerty]

Fished the below the dam on the Snake in JH yesterday. About as good as the river could fish. We made a two mile stretch into 5+ hours. A few pockets of rising fish. One 20+ brown on a size 18 mahogany and tons of nice cutties. Most of the day was spent streamer fishing. Couldn't keep fish away from large, articulated junk. Three streamer rods in the boat, all different colors...the fish didn't care what was in front of them, they ate it.

Go out and get some mahogany action! A tad of cloud cover should help! Not seeing the normal hatches due to the continued summer flows but fish will key on em.

Speaking of flows. The flows on the SF have dropped considerably. The water in the res is low! Jackson Lake is still around 70%! There is no way the flows can be lowered anytime soon, IMO. In fact, I am guessing the opposite mess will occur. There has been lots of talk of the damn dam folks opening up the flood gates on JH side of the Tetons. That would put a damper on the end of outfitter season but trips are slowing anyway. It would suck for those of us that enjoy October fishing on the Snake.

[Woolly the Mammoth]

[URL="http://www.jhunderground.com/2012/09/13/bureau-to-cut-dam-releases-early/"]

Actually they're planning on dropping it a week early.

[skifishbum]

headed back UG way catchin was a bit slow and definitely the most crowded I've seen this summer.
Damn whiteys are gettin aggressive and eatin the streamer.
just as the 3pm wyo winds started crankin the better 1/2 started to push the last mile,
the strippin finger had cracked in both joints and I'd about resigned myself to being content to having enjoyed another quality weekend on the water and gettin a few

definitely my fish/fight of the summer. Mostly cause mrs. bum fkna rocked the sticks to keep us off the rocks and in a good position to allow me the blessin of puttin this one in the net.

[neckdeep]

[URL="http://www.jhunderground.com/2012/09/13/bureau-to-cut-dam-releases-early/"]

Actually they're planning on dropping it a week early.

Yeah, I think sugar beets are the only thing left in the ground and as soon as the last of the sugar beet irrigation is done, you can expect to see Palisades quickly cut releases back to bare minimum flows and then Jackson will probably cut its flow going down to Palisades. Palisades is at 18%, just 3% above the dead pool, so the water has to come from Jackson for now. Bureau of Reclamation prefers to store the water in the GTNP so they don't have to listen to all the complaints about an ugly, empty lake in a national park.

Reports from the SF say the streamer fishing is getting better with the drop in flow but its best to put on early. Still the same ol' hit-or-miss river..As for the Teton, many, many small cutts are descending the tribs back into the Teton. Stupid easy dry fly but most of the easy fish are smallish fish (8-14") that spent the summer up in remote parts of Bitch Creek and never saw a line. The resident big uns were not easy, if they even bothered to inspect a dry, which they rarely did on my last visit. A few more weeks and they'll have forgotten about anglers and be back to feeding on top. Saw a few tricos and a few bwos.

[schwerty]

Well, I was wrong. Flows outta Jackson lake dam are scheduled to start to drop 9/24. Going down to 345ish. I hope they have a plan for spring! The drop should be over by the 30th which translates to roughly 250cfs per day. Hopefully they do it wisely so we dont see tons of fish die in the side channels.

[Lone Star]

^^^ nice!!! I think that's a good 2 or 3 weeks earlier than last fall! so much fun to wade once the low flows hit.

[schwerty]

^^^ nice!!! I think that's a good 2 or 3 weeks earlier than last fall! so much fun to wade once the low flows hit.

It is a fun river to wade! Floating is fantastic at winter flows too if you have a full day to get out. The mahoganies should continue if the days stay warm. Bwo's will be around if it doesn't. Fish are looking for streamers on the snake too. Fall colors! Tetons! This is the time to be on this river. But the damn smoke!!! I'm over this shit.

[gringorasta]

^Word. Thats a fatty bow right there!

Just had some great fishing up on the Lakes plateau in the Beartooths this weekend. Three days, 10 alpine lakes, and Rainbow creek/ the East fork and the Boulder on the way out. Some of the most beautifully colored fish Ive ever seen, although not the biggest! All dries, all weekend- they were mowing on ants and adams up high, and huge Elk hair attractors back on the river! We caught mostly rainbows and cutbows, with one (delicious) 12 inch cutthroat (fish lake, the last we were hitting for the day, first cast, not even to a rise... he was as hungry as us!) on the lakes, and some beautiful leopard-spotted rainbows and lots of nice golden bellied cutties on the rivers.

Maddi this afternoon and hoping to get up to Missoula to chase some Bullies this week!

[Underoos]

hoping to get up to Missoula to chase some Bullies this week!

Isn't that verboten?




Killing cutts and naming names. Sweet...............

[Lexi-Bell]

http://fwp.mt.gov/fishing/license/bulltrout.html

[tone capone]

Underoos, he's talking about fishing lakes in the high mountains that never had native cutts before, and many of them, fish lake included, are overpopulated and lightly fished like many stunted brook trout waters. You can't keep native cutts in their native rivers for good reason but some of those lakes that are full of 6-12 inchers could use some thinning out of their emaciated, snaky population. There are also many lakes managed as trophy fisheries so to each their own, there are 400 something lakes up there and something for everyone.

Don't mean to sound like a dick at all, just wanted to clarify the situation and assure you the poster chose to kill a cutt in a reasonable spot. Maybe you meant something different or you feel that the killing of any cutt is unwarranted, don't know, but all due respect if that is your choice.

[gringorasta]

I like fishing. Its like yoga, but I still get to kill something.

If you've never eaten a Cutthroat out of an alpine lake... dont bother. Just make sure to pack out the garbage from your freeze dried happy meal

[teleee]

Nice Dibs! I just received word that flows will be cut back to winter time flows out of Flaming Gorge ( 850 cfs). Gonna suck for a little bit, then the streamer action should be ON!

[neckdeep]

Streamer action was ON yesterday. It has been building up over the last two weeks but yesterday just about every weed bed and rockpile in the pools had some aggressive cutts ready to move. Got a few big bows in the rapids. It has been five years since the river has been low enough to fully wade side to side through this area of the Teton canyon. Clear low water and minimal wind made for fish tank conditions, could see cruisers and chasers at a distance. Saw a few of the tiny fall BWOs but that hatch still has not really begun. Fished the same #4 powells sculpin from 1pm to 5pm, got a zillion strikes and chases, about 2 dozen takers to hand. Found a flycup with six flies (that I actually use!) as icing on the cake.

[teleee]

Sweet, good to know Neckdeep. I have to go look at the bridge (tough duty) at the put in for the Warm to Ashton float this week and was thinking about hauling the boat with me and floating that section. Do you think I should do that or say screw it and head up and wade the canyon and throw streamers?

[skifishbum]

Spent last week in dutch john for the 4th annual TU green river 1 fly comp. Pretty funny watchin guys geek out on the picking of the magic fly. Aside from an occasional cadis and small pmd's not much goin on up top.
my pops and his partner took high boat score, but they nymphed a 3" thin piece of red surgical tube aka the wiggly worm, which is funny as my dad would rather be skunked than nymph. I was blessed to row for a couple good sticks who threw the small tootsie roll ant and were gettin some good eats till one guy snapped off on the back cast and the others fly fell apart after the 3rd fish. Red creek was blown so we pushed down to the c and stuck a few quality big browns on big articulated junk in tea colored water. Another fine event that raised some $$$$ to help insure the greens flows don't end up waterin greenies lawns in some Millionaires pipe dream.
http://ourdamwater.org/

Pretty colors on the river and fish

[schwerty]

Wish I coulda made it down this yr, Dibs. Sounds like fun.

Teleee - wading the Teton canyon is pretty damn nice this time of year. Cardiac canyon is also an incredible place to fish in the fall. That being said, Warm to Ashton shouldn't be too crowded.

[Beder]

Fished canyon section SF today. Plan was to throw streamers but the olives were hatching thick and everyone was up and eating on top. A really great day.

[neckdeep]

Teton streamer bite continues to be very good over the last week. Yesterday, 16 nice fish (13"-19") to hand over 4 hours of wading plus many strikes, follows and long distance releases keeping things lively. Got the Teton grand slam; cutt, bow, hybrid, brook. Definitely needed the right streamer. Something heavy, natural colored and no more than 2 to 2.5 inches long. Too big (3") and it drew more territorial response than eats. Too small (1") and it was too high in the water column and often ignored. The bite is on during the sunny afternoon BWO hatch when there are just enough duns trickling off a riffle to get fish up into feeding mode but not enough bugs to satisfy them and get them keyed in on the BWO. Pretty darn slow before that hatch starts, I don't bother wetting line before noon but you really want to be in a good spot and working it 1-3pm when the bugs are coming off. There's a few spots with enough bugs and stacked up fish to go with a dry fly or swimming nymph but the streamer has been much better for finding the lurking big fish. The meadow fishing has been fun but duck season starts tomorrow and those guys are not too big on sharing the river with anyone else...

[schwerty]

I got reports this morning from the Green and the lower South Fork , (below the canyon) from the last 3-4 days. Both were glowing! Lots of numbers and a little size. Bwo's and streamers.

[Lone Star]

^^^ 1:1 ratio of streamer eat to self-hookization due to wind on the Green and tribs the past few days!!! sunglasses stay on til after dark.

[schwerty]

So, I hit The Channel I. The Park on Sunday with a couple Lewis L and channel vets. What's usually an aquarium of big browns and lakers at this time of year was pretty well void of fish. Nice and shitty too...blowing hard from the SW, cloud cover all day and never got above the low 40's. This system blowing through should get things moving all over but looks like its back to sunny weather by mid week.

[Lone Star]

Headed back to the land of little ms cutthroat for a couple days. fished the Snake in Jackson and did real well with a black streamer during the snow squall yesterday evening. Freezing guides and line and everything looking up for blue wings in the Park today. I can't really understand how everything can be feeding so aggressively on top and fighting hard with the water as cold as it is.