Big weekend coming up so here’s your weekly fishing report.
River Flow: Palisades reservoir is 63% full. The outflow just dropped minutes ago from 9,250 cfs to 8,250 cfs. Water clarity is excellent.
Weather: I had a client who used to joke with me that he would book me every day in September but we would only fish on the cloudy days. If that was the case this past Monday was the day to be on the river the cooler, wet weather woke up the bugs and the fish with our lodge manager, Justin, declaring it was the best day all summer. So when is the next cloudy day and what should we do in the meantime? It looks like the next cloudy day could be as early as Labor Day and looking more likely by Tuesday.
Fishing and Flies: If you can’t wait around until the next cloudy day focus on mutant golden stones in the early morning (This will be especially true tomorrow morning with the water drop today, forcing more mutants to emerge.), hoppers, and other terrestrials. The PMD’s are pretty much wrapped up for the year and the focus will turn to baetis and mahogany duns, again mostly on cloudy days. Don’t be afraid to probe riffles with small terrestrial patterns and double nymph rigs, the fish are still there. Things will certainly be a bit slower with the hot temperatures and bright sun for the weekend. Many of our guides have switched to double nymph rigs during the hottest parts of the day, especially for beginner anglers.
We do have both guided fishing and lodging available this month. September is a great time to be on the river with cooler temperatures, fewer anglers, and excellent hopper and small dry fly fishing. We’ve have not had any cases of COVID-19 among any of our guests, guides, and staff! Please don’t hesitate to call us if you have any questions. Our phone number is 208.483.2222 or come by our fully stocked fly shop.
Have a great Labor Day weekend and we’ll be back here with a fishing report next week.