Guide Scuttlebutt

Editor’s Note:
I receive a lot of guide information here in the fly shop, and have shared some of it below. Names have been withheld to protect the innocent (Although I don’t know who that might be), and initials substituted. I lack the ambition and integrity to actually do fact checking concerning this information, so feel free to sue me if your fishing trip flames out as a result. Thank you, Hale Harris

MH: “I’ve been using the Tung Teaser in shallow water. The fish like it very well and you can usually see the take. The commercial pattern has a limited hook gap, so we lose a fair number of fish. I’ve also been using another Baetis nymph with the same dark coloration and adding a smidgeon of tungsten to get it down. Works great.

SH: I did several kick screens below Bighorn Access and was surprised to find no scuds or sowbugs but lots of PMD and Yellow Sally nymphs. It’s going to be a big year for both those hatches. Nymph fishing has been very good. I put on a Soft Hackle Sow Bug (#16) and laid waste to them (BH to Mallards).
Moss isn’t much of a factor on the upper river. A little more problematic below Bighorn Access.

HH: The Bighorn Access to Mallards stretch is fishable (5/2) but there are some water clarity issues, due mainly to irrigation return. Soap Creek, Rotten Grass, and Bovet Creek aren’t pumping out a lot of silt, but we have another storm system approaching, so check on this day to day. Mallards to Two Leggins is blown out.
“Fly Duster,” a Yellowstone Fly Goods product, totally rocks. Buy the “Guide” size. The longer brush allows you to extract more powder. You can dry the fly quicker and get back in the game.
The midges … what happened to our midges? It’s all about Baetis now. Maybe the midges will return?!?

MF: Been doing well on the #20 Olive Bead Head Pheasant Tail, #18 Soft Hackle Ray Charles, and #18 Sowbug Carpet Bug. The trout are no longer eating oversize dry flies on 4X tippet. They’re getting smart again because of the fishing pressure. Compara Duns, Parachute Adams and Smoke Jumpers are getting it done on 5X or 6X.
Not all days are created equal as far as the dry fly fishing. Some days are great, some just mediocre. Best fishing is early afternoon.
May have some Mother’s Day caddis fishing on the lower river when it clears!
Solitude’s Killer Mayfly Nymph in #20 Black or #20 Olive is truly a Killer. The trout love the slim silhouette.
Some Flying Ants near 3-Mile Access last week, and the fish were on them for a short time. Don’t get too excited about this, although they will probably reappear on rare occasions throughout the summer.
Snowpack is 48% in the Wind River range. However, year-to-date precipitation is just slightly below normal. The low snowpack is due to unseasonably warm temps earlier in the spring.