News and Fishing Reports

Box Canyon: The Box has fished very well over the past couple of days and I predict it will continue to do so. Our guides are having their best luck fishing tandem rigs of rubber legs and smaller beadhead nymphs. We suggest black, brown, and coffee/black rubber legs in sizes #4 and #6 teamed up with size #14 and #16 tungsten beadhead Krystal Zebra Midges, colors red or black, standard Zebra Midges in red or brown, and Flashback Pheasant Tails. Yesterday several of our guides reported seeing adult salmon flies in the Canyon. We had thought that the cold weather we had last week may have put an end to that hatch but maybe not. I would not be in the Box without a few adult salmon fly patterns.

The Ranch: Yesterday was the Ranch opener. I guess the best way to describe fishing on the opener is SLOW. Do not despair! There were a few fish caught, mostly on March Brown, tan spent caddis, and beetle imitations. I believe the slow fishing is due to the late start to our summer. Four days ago it was more winter like here in Island Park than either spring or summer. The cold early summer has kept water temperatures cold and I believe this more than anything else has delayed our summer hatches of PMD's and caddis. I look for things to pick up in the coming days as water temperatures warm.

Riverside to Warm River: Fishing in this section of the river has been very good to excellent. Yellow Sallies, little olive stones, caddis and a few lingering salmon flies have produced for those hearty souls venturing into this wonderful stretch of the Henry' s Fork.

Warm River to Ashton: This section of the river has been a real surprise for those fishermen floating and wading this often maligned portion of the Henry's Fork. Not only has it produced consistently good fishing in terms of numbers of fish caught it has also produced some sizeable fish. Big rubber legs fished along the banks and drifted down the middle of some of the deeper runs continues to produce the largest fish but caddis, little yellow and olive stone, PMD, and attractor dry flies in sizes #12 to #16 have fooled a great many fish in the 10 to 14 inch class over the past few days.

Ashton to Saint Anthony: Because of much higher than normal flows through this part of the river this early season this section has also been a little slow to get started. However, we have started to see some consistent PMD hatches below Ashton over the past day or two and the fish are looking for them. Most of the fish taken over the past couple of days have been on nymphs with a standard pheasant tail, with or without a bead, consistently fooling fish. Big rubber legs and streamers are also producing. We are all anxiously awaiting a gray drake hatch this year but to date we have not seen any in fishable numbers. Stay tuned.

Other area waters: Firehole River (YNP): The Firehole has been running bank full and then some ever since the opener on May 24th. Still, the river has produced consistently with soft hackled flies fished through the riffles and PMD and caddis patterns. My favorite soft hackle fly is a beadhead March Brown Spider in size #14. Some of my favorite Firehole caddis and PMD patterns are the tan X-Caddis, an EZ Caddis, Harrop's tan Henry's Fork Caddis, and Harrop's tan Bubbleback Caddis, PMD Sparkle Dun's and Harrop's PMD Last Chance Cripple.

Madison River: The Madison continues to run high below Quake Lake but it is clear and fishable. Large stone fly nymphs, woolly buggers, and small tungsten beadhead Zebra Midges are producing. There has not been much in the way of dry fly fishing on the Madison but when the clouds roll in there are still some baetis hatching and the fish will feed on them.

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Rick Smith
TroutHunter
trouthunt.com
208.558.9900