38th Day Fishing – July 15th, 2022
John is a new fishing buddy. We literally only met a few weeks before this float. John and I as it turns out are super compatible. First off, we both live in Teton Valley and we are the same age, but there is much more. We also have a similar amount of experience, are very independent, don’t talk a lot on the water and put a lot of thought into flies, gear, rigging, etc. John is a much better fly tyer than me, but at least we both tie. Ah, and John also has a drift boat.
The Teton is our home water in Teton Valley. The headwaters are in Victor and South Bates boat ramp in Driggs is only an 8 min drive from the cabin. The season for floating the Teton is short. Peak run-off is in June when it is high and muddy, so we usually start floating the river in early July. The best part about the Teton is that it is a great dry fly river. Both caddis and PMDs are abundant almost every evening in July and August. The only downside is that the majority of the fish caught are under 10″ long. The small fish are usually brook trout, which are plentiful in the Teton, but there are Cutthroat and rainbows too, and they can run bigger. The bigger fish tend to hang out in the deeper holes and runs. We caught a few in the 13-15″ range on this trip. What was great was fish are rising the entire length of the float.
Because the flow of the River is slow and lazy, it is known for a huge tube hatch all summer long, particularly on weekends. It gets a little worse each summer. Once known primarily to locals, now there are outfitters focused on getting the tourist dollar, and they offer raft and SUP rentals and shuttles. It is less on weekdays and the recreational rafters usually launch in the afternoon. On the other hand, the PMD hatch typically gets underway between 5 and 6pm. So we target launching at 5pm and sometimes, we just anchor up and wait for the hatch to start, missing the tube hatch crowd.
PMDs and caddis are present almost every evening. The PMD hatch is first. Size 16 is usually a good bet, but sometimes the size 18 is the ticket. Occasionally 14s work too, but not as consistently. We also carry nymphs, emergers, parachutes and cripples. We usually tie on the dun first, but change it up if we get too many refusals. On this night the parachute was the favorite. We probably 6-8 fish each on our first anchorage. When we are anchored, the captain gets to fish too! My go to rod is my 3wt, my Scott G2. With small flies I’m deadly accurate. These fish stay in their and they won’t move to chase a fly. The cast has to be spot on.
The PMD hatch usually winds down by 7. As soon as it does, we switch to caddis. The fish are looking up and they are expecting cassis as the light gets low. The caddis fishing is best between 8:30 and 9:40. Remember, at this time of the year it is light until 10pm. I like the x-caddis in black or brown in a size 16 or 18.
We had a great night. There is always lots of wildlife. The moose tend to show after the rafters are gone, coming to the river for their evening drink. We had a nice male show on this night. The is also all kinds of waterfowl and raptors, including bald eagles.
