Snake River
Note – flows from Jackson Lake Dam will be ramping down starting on September 29th. Flows are tentatively scheduled to drop from 1,800cfs to 325cfs by next weekend.
The Snake is still fishing in typical early autumn fashion with cutthroats rising in most holding water types for everything from mid-sized surface attractors to small BWO and Mahogany imitations. The seasonal emergences of Claassenia stoneflies, hecubas, mahogany duns, and PMDs continue to be strong. BWOs are also present on cooler days. And expect to see the hecubas and mahogany duns out in force on days with precipitation. Side channels and riffles are good places to target with the mayfly dun and emerger imitations. The same water is working with surface attractors in the morning, but these patterns are also working very well along banks and structure and seams. On overcast days, trout can be holding off of the primary lies on banks and structure by a few feet.
Don’t be afraid to use nymph droppers on these surface attractors. And as is almost always the case this time of year, streamers are producing almost everywhere.
Effective dry flies – Snake River Water Walkers, Will’s Winged Chernobyls, Rubber Legged Double Humpies, Chubby Chernobyls, Parachute Extended Body Drakes, PMDs, BWOs, and Mahogany Duns, Booty’s Brown Hecuba, Gray Drake, PMD, BWO, and Mahogany Emergers, Parachute Hares Ears, Comparaduns, Quigley Cripples, Film Critics, Elk Hair Caddis, and Pheasant Tail Emergers.
Effective Nymphs – Lightening Bugs, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns in red or olive, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymphs, Batmen, and Zug Bugs.
Effective Streamers – Sex Dungeons, Booty’s Quad Bunny Leech, Baby Bunnies, Bow River Buggers, Chickletts, Arum’s Lil’ Kim, Lite Brite Zonkers, J.J Specials, Silvey Sculpins, Strung-Out Leeches, and Beldar Buggers.
South Fork
The South Fork continues to fish well, although there are days of inconsistency from one reach to another. Primary emergences include PMDs and caddis, as well as mahogany duns and BWOs on those days with cloud cover and precipitation. The best action for those throwing both dry flies and nymphs is in riffles and seams. Flats and eddies are fishing well during the mid and late afternoon hours, particularly on days with precipitation and cloud cover. Banks and structure are producing with surface attractors, small dries, and nymphs, but action is inconsistent on almost every reach.
Effective dry flies – J-Slams, Kasey’s Creature, Will’s Winged Chernobyl, Chubby Chernobyls, Snowshoe Duns, Comparaduns, Booty’s PMD, BWO, and Mahogany Emergers, Quigley Cripples, Pheasant Tail Emergers, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, BWOs, and Mahogany Duns, Furimsky BDEs, CDC Caddis, and X-Caddis.
Effective nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Legs, Parkin’s PR Muskrats, Copper Johns in red, olive, or black, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Bubbleback Pheasant Tails, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymphs, Hickey’s Auto Nymphs, Psycho Mays, and Bruised Mays.
Effective nymphs – Marabou Clousers, Bow River Buggers, J.J. Specials, Tequilleys, Silvey Sculpins, Swimmin’ Jimmys, Kreelux, Arum’s Lil’ Kims, and Kiwi Muddlers.
Salt River
The Salt River is absolutely beautiful at the moment with terrific fall colors, low and stable flows (approximately 650cfs at McCoy), and trout rising to dry flies. Not as many tricos as last week but still enough to make it fun in the right kind of water. There are still a good amount of PMDs about. BWOs and mahogany duns appear in strong fashion on cool and cloudy days with precipitation. Riffles are the most productive target waters, but sit on eddies and seams when trout are rising consistently and fish them hard. They can produce a lot of fish.
Effective dry flies – Air-Flo Tricos, Parachute Tricos, Parachute Extended Body PMDs and Mahogany Duns, Snowshoe Duns, Comparaduns, Booty’s PMD and Mahogany Emergers, Quigley Cripples, Pheasant Tail Emergers, Film Critics, X-Caddis, Elk Hair Caddis, and Tilt-Wing Caddis.
Effective nymphs – Copper Johns in red or olive, Rainbow Warriors, Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Lite Brite Serendipities, Lightening Bugs, LOF Pheasant Tails, Soft Hackles, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymphs, Hickey’s Auto Nymph, Batmen, Psycho Mays, and Psycho Princes.
Flat Creek
Fishing remains very good on Flat Creek and will probably get even better this week with the colder and wetter weather moving in. Not near as many tricos now, but there are still a good amount of PMDs and caddis frequenting the surface. BWOs and mahogany duns should be out in force in the coming days. No need to be concentrating on the early morning and late evening hours at this time of year. Flat Creek should fish well all day long, and will probably be best from the late morning hours until dusk.
Effective dry flies – Comparaduns, Snowshoe Duns, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, BWOs, and Mahogany Duns, Booty’s PMD, BWO, and Mahogany Emergers, Quigley Cripples, Pheasant Tail Emergers, Film Critics, CDC Wing Caddis, Tilt-Wing Caddis, and X-Caddis.
Effective nymphs – Rainbow Warriors, Lightening Bugs, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Soft Hackle, LOF Pheasant Tails, Erickson’s Spaniard, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, Jujubee Midge, and Brassies.
Yellowstone National Park
We have now officially crossed the into autumn and this is the time of the year that many of us start returning to Yellowstone, particularly to fish for the brown running up and down from Lewis Lake on the Lewis River and up from Jackson Lake on the Snake River. But don’t forget that there are a lot of cutthroat to be caught as well on the Snake. During the past couple of days, our guides have been reporting browns in the Channel above Lewis Lake. Numbers are strongest in the deeper reaches just up from the mouth. Browns are not in the Snake as of yet. Nonetheless, fishing is good on the Snake and the lower Lewis near the confluence for resident brown trout and cutthroats. Fishing egg patterns, stonefly larva imitations, and swinging soft hackles and baitfish imitations are producing. Cool and wet weather can produce with surface attractors and mayfly/caddis duns and emergers.