Unless you have been on the planet Mars the last couple of weeks, I won't elaborate on water conditions that we face. The only questions that remain are when the water levels will peak and how high the water levels will be throughout the season.
Many of you have not seen these type of levels but don't be surprised that it could be late July before you can even cross the Wood in most places. One thing that may be clear is that many of our good early July hatches of Green Drakes, Golden Stones, Small Yellow Stones and the Western Quill, may go through untouched and unseen by the fish. In addition, many of your favorite fishing stretches will have totally disappeared and new ones created. In short, you will now see what flooding can do. That said, let's see what you can expect for the opening weekend.
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· SILVER CREEK—Not many choices here, for the "Creek" is about the only game in town. It should fish nicely but there still remain some questions that need to be answered.
Around Easter, the stream received some serious flash flooding that brought down both large quantities of water and sediment. The Conservancy looks to have come through fairly well but downstream, slit has built up and shifted. Hatches at this time year are always inconsistent but there should be enough going on to find a few heads poking the surface. At least the first week, the fish are not terribly selective and a variety of fly patterns will take fish.
Hatch-wise, look for some PMD's, a few Caddis, and some Midges which can be quite prevalent in the month of June. Your fly arsenal should include PMD Parachutes and PMD Cripples #16-18, Flashback Pheasant Tails #14-16, Black Midges and Pupa #20 and possibly, a few Callibeatis Spinners #16. It is also this time of year where small Black and Black/Olive Wooly Buggers #10-12 can be very effective as well.
· BIG WOOD RIVER—With over 5,000 cfs of water, forget about it for a while.
· BIG LOST/COPPER BASIN—With 3,000 cfs coming into the reservoir and over 1,000 cfs going out, you can kiss this goodbye for awhile as well. Be careful out there.
· PENNY LAKE/LAKE CREEK—If the creeks (Warm Springs/Lake Creek) have not flooded them out, they should be planted with fish prior to the opening and fishing should be good. Bait and Spinners always work well and for you fly guys Parachute Adams #14-16 and Prince Nymphs #12-14 should do the trick.
