Blog & Fly Fishing Report - Jackson Hole & Yellowstone Fly Fishing Guide

Green River Fly Fishing Report 5.28.18 | Wyoming

May 28, 2018/in Green River Fly Fishing Report /by Fish the Fly

Green River Fly Fishing Report

I’m happy to say that Green River fly fishing season is here! Fly fishing on the Green has really started to pick up over the past weeks. This a great time to find some of the best trout on the Green River. Our guided fly fishing trips on the Green River are producing quality trout versus greater catch numbers.

Recent rains and warm air temperatures have caused flows at Warren Bridge to increase to 3000 cfs. The snowpack is still melting out of the mountains and is currently at 136% of average, so runoff will continue for at least another few 2-3 weeks. Water temps are still chilly, but the trout don’t seem to mind!

Your best chance to hook a trophy will be with wet flies, so look for trout to be holding in soft currents and on the edges of riffles. Keep your nymphs deep and make sure you take your time on these water types. The fish are in there, but sometimes it takes 5-10 drifts to entice them to eat. It may seem repetitive to make the same cast over and over, but the trout have to see the fly to eat it. With lower visibility in murky water, patience will pay off. Higher river flows puts a lot of food into the water column and the trout are looking for it.

There is no need to overthink your fly choices. Flies with some flash or a larger profile are really all you need. If they aren’t eating it, it’s more likely that they haven’t seen it versus being the wrong fly. Our guides have using double nymph rigs and tying on San Juan worms in all colors,#4-6 Brown/Black Rubber legs, #10-12 Red or Gold Copper Johns, #10-12 Flashback Pheasant tails and Hares ears. Using a Black Leech as your point fly in this rig is effective also.

Feel free to call us at 307-690-1139 to book your Green River fly fishing trip!

Jane Fortune is all smiles with this Green River brown trout

Larry Fortune and a beautiful brown trout

New Fork Fly Fishing- Guides Report 5.28.18

May 28, 2018/in New Fork River Fly Fishing Report /by Fish the Fly

New Fork River Fly Fishing Report

New Fork River fly fishing is now a reality!! The early season fly fishing window is upon us and has produced some trophy trout recently. River flows have increased steadily over the past week with rains and warm air temperatures. This has slowed activity for the moment, but it won’t be long until our guides are floating this gem of a river again.

Flows are currently 4680 cfs and have risen steadily over the past week from 2500 cfs! With some rain in the forecast for the next few days, look for flows to increase some more. Once this rain passes however, you can expect the river flows to decrease in the next few weeks and water clarity to return to normal. The upper stretches of the New Fork will be your best bet for finding fly fishing water with some visibility. Snow is still melting out of the Wind River mountain range, but water temperatures have reached 56-58 degrees on the lower river recently.

Expect the fish to be in the slower slack water, and also soft riffles on the inside of turns. The fish are certainly hungry after a long winter so take your time and really work these types of water. Getting your flies deep is good, but we have also found brown trout holding in skinny water on the edges. Nymphing is the most productive and muddy water flies are going to be your best bet until the water drops and the debris settles. High water puts a lot of food in the river and the trout love this!

Our guides have been throwing pink and red worms, Rainbow Warriors, Copper Johns, and Rubberlegs in double nymph rigs. Dead drifting streamers or using them as a lead fly in this rig is also productive. Visibility in murky water is tough so think dark leeches that have a larger profile.

We will let you know when New Fork River fly fishing begins again. It won’t be long, so stay tuned on our fly fishing website!

Tarra Pierce holds a healthy brown trout caught during high water from the New Fork River

Snake River fly fishing report Jackson Hole, WY 7.12.17

The Snake River here in Jackson Hole, WY is still running fast and muddy. Current flows are 4230 cfs out of the Jackson Lake Dam and 9360 cfs at Moose, WY. The good news is that the major tributaries such as Pacific Creek, Buffalo Fork, and the Gros Ventre River look to have peaked and are beginning to trend down. This is great news after a long runoff season!

At this point, any guided fishing trips on the Snake River have been more of a scenic float with a casting lesson. There are a few small trout to be caught in the slowest of water types, but the best fly fishing of the season is yet to come for sure.

We look forward to running more guided fishing trips on the Snake River by the end of the month. Stay tuned for more details….

Yellowstone fly fishing report 5.28.17

May 28, 2017/in Fly Fishing Yellowstone National Park /by Fish the Fly

Firehole River Yellowstone National park

The Firehole River on day one of the 2017 Yellowstone fly fishing season

Yellowstone Fly fishing report – Firehole River

The Yellowstone fly fishing season opened yesterday! Opening day typically means dry flies on the Firehole River, but this year nymphs and wet flies were the best. We began our day in the Firehole Canyon with flows around 500 cfs. Flows had dropped from 1000 cfs a few days earlier with cooler weather and some light rain. Word was that the Stonefly nymphs were already on the banks, so we had to see for ourselves.

Yellowstone fly fishing - Firehole canyon

Salmonfly and Golden Stone nymphs in the Firehole Canyon

The Stonefly nymphs were there and the trout were looking for them! We fished #4-10 Rubberlegs with varying droppers – #12 Prince nymph, #16 Pheasant Tails and Red Copper Johns. We found several willing trout in the slower moving runs close to the Gibbon confluence. A few Brown trout even ate big foam dry flies in the pocket water closer to the falls.

Fish on!

After lunch we moved upstream to look for some more dry fly fishing. We were deterred by the crowds at Fountain Flat. We kept going to the Mallard Creek area and found fewer people. The long runs in this area looked promising for finding trout rising to dry flies, but we only found a few fish looking up. They were willing trout and smashed a #16 Yellow Film Critic on first pass.

Good dry fly water

Yes, I do like dry flies!

The water was still a bit high, and as a result nymphs and wet flies were more consistent. Red Copper Johns and Pheasant Tails were really all you needed. Swinging small yellow soft hackles through the riffles was also very productive.

All in all, it was a solid day on the Firehole. The flow drop definitely helped the fly fishing. Weather for the next week is forecast to remain in the 50’s, so it looks like flows will remain consistent in the 500-600 cfs range. We will be run guided Yellowstone fishing trips here for at least the next three weeks.

Yellowstone fly fishing – Lewis Lake

Is that a boat ramp?

I drove through the Lewis River drainage on my way up to the Firehole and stopped to see how Lewis Lake looked. It looked great, if you were going to ski across it! The parking lot was plowed, but the boat ramp and lake itself were still under a couple feet of snow and ice.

Got skis?

What a difference a year makes! On Opening Day in 2016,we motored all the way to the Lewis Channel and caught numerous trout. Lewis Lake should thaw out by June 10th, but it all depends on the weather!

Call us at 307-690-1139 for the latest Yellowstone fly fishing report and to book your trip!

Jackson Hole Fishing Report – Snake River 5.4.17

May 6, 2017/in Jackson Hole Fly Fishing Reports /by Fish the Fly

Fly fishing Jackson Hole- April

Jackson Hole fishing Report – Snake River

Here’s the latest Jackson Hole fishing report, sorry to keep you waiting! Fly fishing has been solid, despite higher than average flows on the Snake River.

The Snake River dropped and cleared last week and the results are in the net! Flows were dropped out of Jackson Lake Dam to 2000 cfs and the cooler weather brought runoff to a halt on our tributaries. Great hatches of BWO’s, Skwalas, Caddis, and a few March Browns had our Snake River Cutthroat looking to the surface for their next meal.

Focusing on slower water types and side channels with less volume saw the best surface action. We used the drift boat to float to likely fishing spots and walked around on foot. We also parked on relatively slow riffles for the most consistent action. Fly fishing from the boat was best with streamers such as Olive and White Double Bunnies or Black Leeches. Flies that were retrieved with quick 1-2 foot long strips were the most productive.

Slower riffles or banks were great places to toss a streamer or nymph rig. We fished a two fly nymph rig, with 5-6 feet of leader before the first fly, typically a #8-12 Stonefly nymph on 3X. Our droppers have been a mix of #12-16 Pheasant Tails and #10-14 Hare’s Ears, roughly 18″ below the point fly. Both Olive and Red Copper Johns were successful droppers as well.

Upper Snake River Basin Snowpack Discussion

The Upper Snake River basin is currently at 165% of average for this date. Not surprising since we received 3-4 feet of snow above 8000 feet through the week! The switch has flipped to more Summer like weather this week, and as a result river flows are on the rise.

Runoff will last into July this year on the Snake River. Our long-term forecast for the next few months shows more precipitation. Call us to find out where we are fly fishing before you arrive.

Stay tuned here for an up-to-date Jackson Hole fishing report! Or give us a call at 307-690-1139 to book a guided fly fishing trip in Jackson Hole.

Beautiful 20″ Snake River Finespot Cutthroat trout

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