Happy Thursday everyone! Here’s this week’s fishing report brought to you by Chase Hines. Chase is mid-way through his 4th season as a guide for us and well he’s crushing it. Chase has been on the river each day this week and reports that the “summer doldrums” “dog day of summer” “severe clear” have waned. Chase thinks that the combination of lower
temperatures, a small drop in flows, and even the hazy/smoky skies have really helped the fishing. Chase has been fishing “big bugs” ie. mutant golden stone and hopper patterns with a dropper almost exclusively this week and has even had periods where the fish were biting so well on big bugs that he didn’t need droppers at all. That’s some great news. If you’re a fan of big fish and Instagram take a look at and follow Chase at https://www.instagram.com/aybchase/
If there’s any bad news in this report it’s the Henry’s Creek Fire and Tie Canyon Fires burning near Swan Valley. The Tie Canyon Fire is located on Pine Creek Pass and is right now is mostly just a nuisance due to smoke but as of right now the Henry’s Creek Fire that started on Sunday near Idaho Falls has moved closer to Swan Valley and home owners on the South side of the river were notified to start thinking about and taking measures for a possible evacuation if the flames
continue to move that way. So while Chase reports the lower light caused by the smoke has improved the fishing it’s certainly not good news. We’ll post updates on our facebook page as needed.
What’s on the horizon fishing wise? Be on the lookout for another drop in flows, it has to be coming. This will kick off another round of mutant golden stones. If a cooler and or wet weather pattern rolls in we’ll see our first Blue Winged Olives of the Fall…yes it’s just around the corner. Also pay attention to flies that have been successful on the South Fork during the Jackson Hole One Fly event (here’s a list http://jacksonholeonefly.com/one-fly-event/winning-flies/) as that event gets close no doubt our guides will be testing out proven patterns from the past and thinking of new ones.
Have fun out there!