Snake River

Fishing is decent on the upper reaches in Grand Teton National Park and on the lower reaches from South Park Bridge down to Sheep Gulch.  Claassenia is out as is Hecuba (a little early and only a couple seen a day).  Caddis are reliable in the morning until 10am and PMDs are around in the afternoon.  Expect to hear a fair amount of grasshoppers in the afternoon and see carpenter ants from time to time.  No bug is dominant, but together they are offering decent to good surface action and dropper feeding.  Still, larger trout are difficult to come by.  The caveat – Recent rains and “cooler” air temps have dropped water temps on most of the river.  Discoloration is occurring below tributaries on certain reaches, but the river really needs this change.

Tandem and dry-dropper rigs are working best in riffles, seams, side channels, troughs, and along banks and structure.  Faster currents are producing best in the afternoon and slower currents are active until around 1:30pm, except for side channels which can continue to produce if targeting deeper water with nymphs.

Streamers are finally turning on a bit more but still require some precision targeting.  Banks, structure, the head of riffles, troughs, and seams should be focused on with diligence.  Go with floating lines and sinking tips in the INT to 3ips range until early afternoon when 6ips to 8ips or short lengths of T-11 might be required.  Vary up your retrieves but focus on slow to moderate line strips with hesitations every now and then. 

Dry flies – Circus Peanut, Snake River Water Walker, Parachute Hoppers, Turck’s Power Ant, Sparkle Ant, Two-Tone Ant, Arrick’s Parachute Ant, Booty’s Hecuba Emerger, Chez’s Hecuba, Parachute Hares Ears, Parachute Adams, Booty’s DL Cripple, and Film Critics.

Nymphs – Duracells, Cyclops, Nymph Formerly Known As Prince, Halo Back Girl, Howell’s Shuck It, Crack Back Bullet Nymph, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, Lightening Bugs, Frenchie, and Perdigons.

Streamers – Galloup’s Peanut Envy, Strolis’ Headbanger Sculpin, Silvey Sculpins, Mojo Minnows, McKnight’s Home Invader, Booty Call Minnows, Arum’s Lil’ Kim, Kreelux, and Woolley Buggers.

South Fork

Topsy-turvy flows from Palisades Reservoir, but they currently stand at just over 9,000cfs. Mutant stones are out, making early morning starts worthwhile if seeking surface eats on large-ish attractor and stonefly patterns.  Caddis are also around in the morning as are an impressive amount of PMDs given the time of the day.  In fact, small imitations of each – including various life stages – are working in similar fashion as larger mutant stone patterns, but for a longer part of the day.  Action is best from around 7:30 am until 11 am, after which there is a noticeable mid-day lull before things kick back into gear until around 4 pm.  Riffles, seams, and eddies fish well during the two time periods of production.  During the mid-day lull, eddies and banks with moderate current speeds still offer some action.

Streamers have been producing better and better with each passing day. Moderately sized imitations are the name of the game primarily.  Like surface and nymph patterns, they are working best in the morning hours and then again after 2 pm and until 6 pm or so.  Banks have been hot targets on all reaches, along with troughs and submerged structure.  Riffles, seams, and eddies are producing just as well on the upper reaches from the Dam down to Byington.  Go with moderate retrieves but be ready to speed up your line retrieves if action slows. Floating and intermediate sinking lines and everything from INT to 8ips tips are producing equally well.

Dry flies – Burky’s Bear Back Rider, Snake River Water Walkers, Circus Peanuts, Parachute Hoppers, Elk Hair Caddis, Peking Caddis, Mathew’s X-Caddis, Snowshoe Caddis, Au Sable Wulffs, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, Parachute Adams, Pink Alberts, Comparaduns, Booty’s DL Cripple, Film Critics, and Rusty Spinners, 

Nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Leg, 20-Inchers, Duracells, Cyclops, Mopscicles, Syl’s Soft Hackle, Glass-Tail Caddis, Blowtorch, Psycho Princes, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Devil Jigs, and Perdigons.

Streamers – Rustics, Goldilocks, Geisha Girls, Craven’s Swim Coach, Booty Call Minnows, Arum’s Lil’ Kim, Marabou Muddlers, Galloup’s Stacked Blonde, and Kreelux.

Salt River

Cool water temps remain and the Salt is fishing decent to good most days on most reaches.  A smattering of PMDs and tricos for the most part.  Terrestrials are primarily smallish grasshoppers and carpenter ants.  Eddies, seams, and riffles are producing early in the day from dawn until around 1pm.  Banks, structure, and troughs produce from around noon until dusk.  Go with smaller, imitative patterns for the most part, as action on surface attractors slows significantly after 11am.

Dry flies – Micro Peanuts, Micro Bruces, Grand Hoppers, Galloup’s Ant Acid, Bear’s No Hackle Ant, Hackle, Stimulators, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, Parachute Adams, Klinkhamers, CDC Trico Emergers, Air-Flo Tricos, Quigley Cripples, and Rusty Spinners.

Nymphs – Psycho Princes, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, GT’s CN Super Flash, Military Mayflies, Perdigons, Zebra Midges, and Ice Cream Cone Midges. 

Flat Creek

Getting nice and challenging.  Expect to work for your solid-sized fish for an hour or so.  Fishing has been best from dawn until 11am or so and again for an hour before dusk (call it 8pm or after).  It’s possible to get consistent action later in the afternoon with cloudy, wet weather.  No matter when you fish, go with 5X or lighter tippet that is 9ft or longer.  Not a lot of bugs on the water, but still a diverse set of PMDs, caddis, tricos, callibaetis, and midges.  Grasshoppers are the primary terrestrial but little action on hopper patterns.  Craneflies are also out, and there is surprising action on their adult imitations when fished correctly (think surface dancing). Target undercut banks, submerged structure, eddies, and riffle pools for the most part.  Seams and eddies can come alive in the evening or when there is cloudy weather with a little precipitation.

Dry flies – Will’s Crane Fly Perfection, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, BWOs, Comaraduns, and Mahogany Duns, Booty’s DL Cripple, Film Critics, Trico Emergers, Rusty Spinners, Parachute Midges, and CDC Midge Emergers.

Nymphs – Mopscicles, Lucent Crane Larva, Simple’s Dragon Nymph, Keller’s Peach Fuzz, Psycho Princes, CN Super Flash, Lightening Bugs, Zebra Midges, and Perdigons.