Snake River
Low and gin clear and fishing really well with dry-droppers in the morning and tandem dries in the afternoon. The middles and lower reaches from Moose Bridge down to Sheep Gulch have been the most productive parts of the river. Blue-winged olives are out in the afternoon, along with a smattering of October Caddis. Side channels are fishing best. On the main channels, target riffles and seams. Banks and bank-side troughs with shallow to moderate depths and slower currents are also work fishing. On the lower river from Astoria down to Sheep Gulch, Submerged structure and ledge rock is also fishing very well. The best strategy has been to use dry-droppers in the morning and switch to tandem dries in the afternoon when emergences and surface feeding starts to intensify.
Dry Flies – Will’s Winged Chernobyl, Winged Peanuts, Chubby Chernobyls, Purple Bruces, PMXs, Stimulators, X-Caddis, Goddard Caddis, Tent-Wing Caddis, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, BWOs, and Mahogany Duns, Purple Haze, AuSable Wulffs, Thorax Mahogany Duns, Sparkle Duns, Booty’d BWO and Mahogany Emergers, Quigley Cripples, Film Critics, and D&D Cripples.
Nymphs – Biot Bugs, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Copper Johns in red or olive, Robins, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, Psycho Princes, Green Hornets, and Kyle’s C-N Super Flash.
Streamers – Arum’s Lil’ Kim, Silvey Sculpins, Teller’s Polar Minnow, Kreelux, Chicklett’s, Beldar Buggers, Galloup’s Peanut Envy, SRA Double Bunnies, Sculpzillas, and Keller’s Dream Catcher.
South Fork
Flows from Palisades Reservoir are at 1,400cfs but will be dropping to between 600 and 900cfs this week for a few days while work is being done on the Great Feeder Dam. Lots of midges in morning on every reach. Blue-winged olives and October Caddis in the afternoon. Mohogany duns, along with the blue-wings, will be out when it is cooler and wetter. There is a fair amount of surface action in the morning on both midge imitations and, to a lesser degree, small attractors used as part of a dry-dropper rig. Surface action is best after 1:30 pm with mayfly adult/emerger imitations and larger caddis dries. Target riffles, seams and flats, and pay particular attention to the tailouts. On the lower river below Wolf Eddy, this same water, as well as some of the submerged structure is producing really well.
Dry flies – Chubby Chernobyls, Will’s Winged Chernobyls, Fat Alberts, Western Sallies, Stimulators, Goddard Caddis, E-Z Caddis, X-Caddis, Parachute Adams, Parachute Extended Body BWOs, PMDs, Cahills, and Mahogany Duns, Comparaduns, Snowshoe Duns, Rusty Spinners, Booty’s BWO and Mahogany Emergers, Film Critics, Furimsky BDEs, Snowshoe Tricos, and Renegades.
Nymphs – Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Psycho Mays, Bruised Mays, Copper Johns in red, olive, or black, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Zebra Midges, Booty’s Day-2 Midge Pupa, and Ice Cream Cone Midges.
Yellowstone National Park
Lewis Lake – Both the lake and the channel continue to fish well. Browns that are on the beds have been up high towards the Shoshone Lake. However, there is a LOT of browns in the lower channel where watercraft have access. Eggs, soft hackles, and San Juan Worms are working on the beds. Black or purple streamers – Egg Sucking Leeches, Woolley Buggers, Sparkle Minnows – Are producing best. The browns are spooking easily, so be prepared for long casts (60 feet or so) and soft presentations.
In the stillwater, swarming lake trout are being found in two to six feet of water. As with the browns, lakers are kinda spooking easily, so be prepared for some long casts. Brighter patterns – Kreelux, Clousers, Chickletts, and copper Sparkle Minnows – are working best.
Snake/Lewis Confluence – More browns are moving into the Snake from Jackson Lake. It’s still not a ton of fish (although it never really is) but certainly more than the last couple of weeks. A more consistent target are the cutthroats which are feeding pretty good on dry adults and emergers, as well as streamers. Riffles, structure and troughs are the best water to focus on. Wetter weather is bringing out both cutthroats and browns to the surface, primarily on BWO and PMD emergers.
Note – Yellowstone closes on October 31st, so hit it now!