2012 Rocky Mountain Fishing Conditions

[schwerty]

Another season is here....if you like to fish in the snow, wind, cold, sleet and rain.

As usual, let's keep reports/pics worthy of a TR in the main forum so people outside of the Mtn West can enjoy and comment. Not that we shouldn't dump photos here but you should get it by now.

Happy angling to all!
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The winter in the Yellowstone ecosystem has been ok at best. I know the Bozone crew is hurtin'. Eastern ID, (outside of the area right around the Parks), seem to be in the same boat. As of today, in the Tetons, we are still below average in both snowpack and water content. A nice string of storms is amping things up though! Personally, I am not looking for the monster snow year we had last year nor am I crossing my fingers for a snow filled spring and wild, summer-long runnoff. I could go for an average year with a runnoff season that ebbs and flows a little, extending long enough for the fisheries to be productive. No telling what will happen yet. Another 8-9 weeks before the story really can begin to be analyzed.

Skiing is good here in the Tetons but being that the sky was dropping rain instead of snow on me while walking the dog at 6:15am today, I decided it was time for my focus to move on. I will surely get some good days of powder skiing in and tear up the resort bunny slopes with my Daughter but my mind and desires have moved on. Unfortunately, I have not been out to wet a line yet but have made the calls to guys that have been out there recently.

Snake River: In JH has been just ok as it always is in february. Warmer days have brought fish up. Nymphing is hit or miss and streamer fishing isn't really going at all yet. The water is flowing out of the dam with a larger than normal volume and the word is that will continue. I can't see how they could slow it up....they shouldn't, IMO! Access on the river is fairly limited to the regular spots...Wilson bridge, South Park, Swinging bridge, upper canyon etc... There are some other access areas you can ski or snowshoe into. Regular shit will catch fish. It ain't worth it if we get a string of 0 degree nights.

South Fork: The water is flowing quick outta Palisades too! Still at a decent wading level but not quite as easy to get around as it usually is this time of year. Don't look for it to drop. On the typical, appealing fishing day over there it has been excellent. The faster than normal water has kept the fish moving around more than they usually are in the winter months. Midge fishing in the calm water has been nothing short of awesome on the right days during that crucial warm part of the day. Big heads coming out of the water. Dries and emerging patterns are killing it. Nymphing and streamer fishing have been passing time before and after the midging.

Haven't heard anything from the HF since January and I haven't heard a damn thing from the upper Green this year. I know the Themopolis area has been fishing well all winter but for now I will leave that to WySplit if he opts to talk about it. The local tribs are icy and low. Some are prolly fishing but no reports yet. Nothing from the Salt except for the 2-headed trout!


Happy angling!

[skifishbum]

navigate safely

hope to fish you MT,ID WY fools again sooner than later.

[teleee]

Floated the Green Sunday and Monday,saw the nice shiny bottom of a boat down below mother in law on Sunday. Be careful out there!
And caught this monster on a hiefer groomer.
We had a few hits on midges on top, but the best action was stripping big streamers. Black on the upper river, white in the big slow pools and tan in the fast water below mothe in law

[schwerty]

Good to hear you're hittin the Green T! I look forward to fishin with you too, SFB! Maybe we can get a day on the Utarded green this spring!!

[teleee]

Schwerty, that would be awesome if you could make it down to Utardia for a float. I am pretty much out the entire month of March(traveling for work) but April is very open.
Also, I am going to be in The Casper and Thermopolis area March 7th, 8th and 9th if anyone wants to get out. Considering dragging the boat along for the ride.

[skifishbum]

road tripped for thar 1st float of the year

for some reason they're fuckin w/ the flows pretty good which don't do a hell of a lot for the catchin.
a few large bluewings startin to show up amongst the midges.
b floated well only boat on the section mon. upper wyo melt/runoff has below red creek pretty stained and on the verge of blown out, but the upper b fished well

plannin on a green 4 20 camp trip/float unless it dumps or winter finally shows up again if any of you fools are into spending that holidaze in the pursuit of the fishes

best catchin involved white tube jigs and zonkers/sculpins

[schwerty]

Good to see ya back in action SFB!

[ak_powder_monkey]

I'll be in Bozeman April 14...

Anybody want to go fishing

[schwerty]

If you make it to the teton area I'll go.

[ak_powder_monkey]

I can probably do that... you know if the fishing is gonna be good!

[schwerty]

Hit or miss. Could be a game time decision. Stay in touch.

[ak_powder_monkey]

will do... want to reccomend me some flies?

[schwerty]

AK- flies will depend on where you fish and the weather but:

Basic midge patterns - (black, red and cream). All stages of life.
BWOs- all stages. Sizes 14-20 should do.
Basic bed heads - copper johns in a variety of colors. Variations on the prince nymph. Pheasant tails. Rubberlegs in a variety of sizes, mostly black or brown. Any other attractor nymphs you like. 10-16 is fine for searching.
Streamers and buggers. Dont be afraid to go large and small. Zonkers, double bunnies, buggers of all shapes and sizes, articulated shit too. Blacks and whites are usually the ticket but other colors can work. If the weather turns back to winter you won't be stripping much...

[ak_powder_monkey]

midges are the bane of my existence... Otherwise it sounds like the old ak box will be just fine...

I hope the mayflies pop... Can't wait to kickstart the season (then off to steelhead camp!)

[schwerty]

Holy balls! The Snake in GTNP is fishing. Midge activity all weekend. Big, healthy fish eating emergers and some dries in the slow water. SMALL cream and black midge patterns. Light leaders and tippet are necessary to get the hogs to eat. I found some fish that were eating a size 14 parachute BWO or parachute adams...'was using these as indicators, trailed with a midge pattern of sorts. Didn't bother fishing a streamer this weekend. Nymphing was good with zebra midges, red copper johns, and go figure....princes and pheasant tails.

The Wilson Bridge has been a shit show for days now! Boats all over the place. Wading folks at every pool you can see and then some. Reports of our small black stones, (not skwallas yet), have been coming in from Wilson down to the upper canyon. It seems as if the skiing conditions have pushed anyone that has touched a fly rod in their life to the Snake or South Fork.

If you are here, passing through or heading this way, find a spot away from the crowds. Floating is certainly a good option but it's no secret that fishing is only good from about 11-4 on the warmest, cloudy days.

[ak_powder_monkey]

oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy! Been tying midges for a week now... still gonna get my ass handed to me... Guess how hard it is to find CDC and sz. 24 hooks in AK?

[Flipadelphia]

As schwerty said, the Snake is fishing beautifully right now with these early spring conditions. Went out today south of Wilson Bridge and got 8 whitefish and a 16" cutty in an hour and a half, all on prince nymphs. Crowds were MUCHHHH lighter than the past couple of days which was nice. The midge hatches have been great and good sized fish are rising on dries if you time it right. Keep this weather coming!

[jpcm]

my buddy caught this between west bank and rifle. may be the state record flannel mouth sucker?? I hear the upper CO is running clear and fishing well.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...78961141_n.jpg

[teleee]

So after a solid month of traveling I am going to get away and head towards a buddies cabin at Palisades for the weekend. Anybody know how the rivers are fishing? South Fork, Snake, Salt, Upper Green up to hit anything.

[schwerty]

So after a solid month of traveling I am going to get away and head towards a buddies cabin at Palisades for the weekend. Anybody know how the rivers are fishing? South Fork, Snake, Salt, Upper Green up to hit anything.

Fishing has been good! Supposedly, the flows outta Palisades are gonna go up from about 5k to 13k later this week. That'll fuck things up on that one until it has 2 days to stabilize. No word that I've heard as to Jackson Lake dam compensating. The Green should be good but low for floating. Not sure how the salt is holding up but barring any super hot days and nights or monster rain it should be on!

We are seeing slightly cooler weather than last week and nights are back to seasonal temps so freestones are not seeing a push yet. The groundwater level is already coming up and fast. Any weather shift, (warm or rainy), and the rivers on the Jh side will swell a little and could get cloudy. The Hoback blew completely with last weeks rain and warmth. Stable now but who knows how long.

You guys will find fish regardless. I will be around if you need pointers or updates.

[neckdeep]

The lower Henry's (Warm River to St.Anthony) leads the regional streams by 3-4 weeks in the seasonal hatch cycle progression. It has a lower elevation watershed, a high content of spring water warming the snowmelt input and quite a lot of the annual snowmelt sinks into the ground up there (thus all the springs). If you want dry fly action, it might be worth the extra 50 mile drive - ! depending on the weather ! If the weather is overcast and between 40-60 degrees, #16-18 BWOs should be hatching and the first big mayfly of the year,#12 March Browns, is a possibility as well. On average, the MBs begin in mid-april but this sure has felt like an early spring so far. The hatches often overlap. The trout go freakin bonkers for the March Browns. If its sunny and windy, not many fish will be rising even if a decent BWO hatch trickles off, and I've noticed the March Browns prefer to hatch under cloud cover and don't like windy days. When it is partly cloudy you will often see the big bugs pop and many rising fish while a large cloud blocks the sun for 10+ minutes and then the action will shut off within two minutes of direct sunshine resuming. HF in springtime is a really inconsistent river and too much sunshine plays a big role in that. Awesome dry fly one day with fish rising everywhere you look and then totally dead on the surface the next day. A gloomy April day with a little drizzle can be spectacular fishing. If the sun comes out, indicator nymphing the bottom of holes and runs is the most productive method, pretty much.

[schwerty]

Teleee - The SF bump up has started.

[teleee]

Thanks for the info Neckdeep and Schwerty. We are thinking the Salt is looking like out best option at this point. Although, I do like the Warm to Ashton stretch that much driving may put a damper in our beer drinking...

[schwerty]

It's not that far. The driver will be limited but that's a given.

Dam to pacific on the Snake is fishing well. The snake lower down would be worth a float and only a short drive.

[neckdeep]

You can catch fish, especially browns, during the rising water on the SF though it is streamer work. You'll find big fish on the off-current banks and inside corners ambushing the displaced baitfish. I rowed the canyon once during runoff at 16,000cfs and rising, all the creeks were blowing out, it was pouring rain and water was barely 1ft vis. I thought it was a total waste of time but wanted to fish with an old friend who is one of the region's most skilled anglers. The guy who was fishing is a streamer master and an incredibly accurate caster. He's so good at it they had to change the One Fly rules to exclude streamers before he totally altered the nature of the contest. He must have rolled at least 30-40 browns and those were just the ones we could see through the mud. Netted at least 20 nice ones in the first 12 miles and then the sun came out and the browns mostly stopped feeding. Only caught a few in the next 12 miles.

I would think "the ditch" section is a bit swift and cold for this time of the year. I wouldn't put in above the Irwin Slide.