Spring and fall have always been my favorite times of the year. Winter is fun in the beginning, but the excitement soon comes to an end. Summer is also fun, but the August heat gets old quickly. Spring is amazing around our area. Take a drive around, and you see new life everywhere… Newborn calves and new grass. It’s a beautiful time of the year. The most exciting thing for me is seeing trout rising! The fishing has been excellent these last few weeks, and that trend should continue.
The snowpack still looks excellent. Last week was dry; I hope to see a long, cool, wet spring. We will see what happens. My report is similar to last week’s. The same bugs and patterns will work well. The Box Canyon ramp is still snowed in, and while the Ashton boat ramp is open, the put-in at Stone Bridge is still blocked, and the jump-off canyon access is still a no-go. The snow is going quickly in Ashton, so that could change soon.
I don’t have cutting-edge information on new hatches, but I saw a Mother’s Day Caddis. Sure, it was only one insect, but it was still exciting! The Mother’s Day Caddis is a great hatch. Keep an eye on things and take advantage of the Spring weather.
The weekend fishing for me was terrific. My son and I left the house and checked out the Warm River above the campground. The Mother’s Day caddis were thick, and the fish were on them. A Hemmingway caddis was all that was needed. We stopped at Fall River and found a few smaller fish eating midges. We sight-nymphed a few bigger fish with an 18 two-bit hooker and did ok. We ended the day on the Henry’s Fork and found fish eating all over. BWO’s were thick! Oddly enough, when we checked on Sunday, we must have missed the hatch because we could not find a fish up.
Things are heating up, and it’s a great time to be on the water. We have a bunch of guides sitting around, available to row you down the river…Take advantage of the early season rates. Get out on the water, and have a great day!