Snake River

Fishing remains really solid on the Snake with stable winter flows and cool, crystal clear water on every reach.  Blue-winged olives and mahogany duns are the primary emergences at the moment, but we are beginning to see more October caddis just about everywhere.  There are also some PMDs still about.  Double nymph rigs (in riffles and on seams, and banks) and streamers (on banks and structure) are the way to go in the morning with cooler water temps.  As afternoon approaches, tandem dry rigs and dry-dropper rigs are working in just about every type of holding water.  Streamers are working well into the afternoon on floating, intermediate, and TYPE III sinking lines and tips.

Effective dry flies – Snake River Water Walkers, Circus Peanuts, Stimulators, Tent-Wing Caddis, Sparkle Caddis Duns, Parachute Extended Body BWOs, PMDs, and Mahogany Duns, Comparaduns, Parachute Adams, Booty’s PMD, BWO, and Mahogany Emergers, Quigley Cripples, Pheasant Tail Emergers, and Film Critics.

Effective nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Legs, BH Flashback Hares Ear Nymphs, Prince Nymphs, Lightening Bugs, Copper Johns in red or olive, Flashback Pheasant Tails, aqnd Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph.

Effective streamers – Silvey Sculpins, J.J. Specials, Bow River Buggers, Beldar Buggers, Booty’s Quad Bunny Leech, Cheech’s Leech, Marabou Muddlers, and Lite Brite Zonkers.

South Fork

The South Fork is still fishing great on every reach.  It is mainly a nymphing game, and a very good one at that.  Nonetheless, there is action on mayfly and caddis imitations and on streamers during the late to mid-afternoon hours and on those days with cloud cover and precipitation.  Blue-winged olives, mahogany duns, and October caddis are the primary surface bugs to match.  Hit riffles, seams, and flats with double nymph rigs and tandem dry rigs.  Slower currents along banks can also produce with these imitations, but they are also prime targets with streamers, as is submerged structure and riffle/seams tailouts.

Effective dry flies –  Stimulators, Tent-Wing Caddis, Sparkle Caddis Duns, Elk Hair Caddis, Parachute Extended Body BWOs, PMDs, and Mahogany Duns, Comparaduns, Parachute Adams, Snowshoe Duns, Booty’s PMD, BWO, and Mahogany Emergers, Quigley Cripples, Pheasant Tail Emergers, Q’s Loop Wing Cripples, and Film Critics.

Effective nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Legs, PR Muskrats, Bitch Creek Nymphs, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Hickey’s Auto Nymph, Copper Johns in red or olive, San Juan Worms, Psycho Mays, and Bruised Mays.

Effective streamers – Galloup’s Sex Dungeons, Booty’s Quad Bunny Leeches, Swimmin’ Jimmies, SRA Bunnies, Bow River Buggers, J.J. Specials, Tequilley’s, Galloup’s Zoo Cougars, and Kiwi Muddlers.

Yellowstone National Park

Browns are running on both the Lewis Lake and River system and on the Snake River above Jackson Lake.  Fishing is very good both, although you have a greater chance of racking up numbers on the Snake with the chance of getting into resident cutthroats and brown trout.  Streamers – Strung-out leeches, Lite Brite Zonkers, J.J. Specials, and Beldar Buggers – are the best way to go on the Lewis Channel and on the Lake in the vicinity of the Channel mouth, Brookie Bay, and Mack Point.  The same streamers, as well as Silvey Sculpins and Bow River Buggers, are producing on the Snake, but so too are dun, emerger, and larva imitations of blue-winged olives and mahogany duns.