April 30th, May 1st & 2nd – Fly Fishing days 20-22 – The Henry’s Fork and Teton Rivers
It was bound to happen and as luck would have it, it did! The “It” was excellent fishing conditions on two of my favorite rivers, the Teton and the Henry’s Fork. Mother’s Day caddis? Mother’s Day was still ten days off, but the caddis have arrived! I’ve always thought of caddis hatches coming on Mother’s Day, but that was because of Ark Anglers always promoting the Mother’s Day caddis hatch on the Arkansas River in Colorado. It always stuck in my head that way. In reality, when the big caddis hatch arrives can be different on each river in the Rockies. Now that I keep a stream thermometer clipped to my waders, I have been able to corroborate what Google tells me:
The optimal water temperature range for a caddis hatch is generally between 50°F (10°C) and 60°F (15.5°C). Strong caddis hatches often coincide with water temperatures of 52-54°F. This temperature range is typically associated with the spring and early summer months.
So Thursday, May 1st when I took the water temp at launch, it was 50 degrees. But after rigging and traveling a short distance downstream, the water temp was now 52 and rising, and that is when the hatch got underway! You don’t need to look at dates on the calendar, you just need to know the optimal water temp for a hatch.
April 30th – Teton River Float – water temp 54 degrees
When I launched on the Teton River at 1pm there was already plenty of caddis on the water. Only one problem: the water really off color. So the caddis were on top and the fish below could not see them. But, I had a back-up plan and my hope was perhaps somewhere along the way, perhpas in shallower sections, there would be fish keying on the caddis. My backup was to swing and retrieve a leech pattern, in a darker color. Dark, because of the off color water, and leech because they are an excellent choice during run-off. The Teton is NOT a tailwater and I knew that by late May/early June, it would be overflowing its banks from snowmelt and basically, not fishable. So, my go-to dark leech is the midnight fire tied in a balanced fashion.
The three trips chronicled here were all solo, with the exception of my co-captain Molly, the wonder schnauzer! A disadvantage is until Molly learns to row the boat, I can’t row and cast at the same time. So I have to anchor and either fish from the stationary boat or get out and wade. The section I was floating on the Teton today, doesn’t offer many good wading opportunities and my expectation was to just fish from the boat. The Henry’s Fork has a consistent solid footings and my prefernce there was to get out and wade.
At my first anchorage and my second cast, I hooked into a nice cutthroat! It dawned on me that I was anchored on the inside seam off of the left bank, and the fish hit as the fly swung through the current. So, on subsequent casts I also noted eats were happening in the current.
Then bam! A big grab happened just below the surface and as my line came tight, I immediately realized it was a big fish! The fight lasted a few minutes and as I netted the fish, and hefted it, I realized it was special. It measured over 19″, which makes it my personal best cutthroat in the Teton, yes, but rivers in general. my best river cutthroat.
Without moving, I caught a couple of smaller cutts as well. So far a great start to my first Teton float of the year. I made several other anchorages as I worked my way down the river. None produced like the first, but I did manage a few more fish. I even had a brookie grab my leech!
When floating the Teton, there is always an expectation that we could come across a moose, and 3/4 of the way through the float Molly and I were rewarded by this big gal:
As we floated by, she did not move a muscle. Nor was she the least bit concerned. My hunch is that she was very pregnant and ready to drop a calf.
Although the photo does not do it justice, there are several points on the float with incredible Teton views.
May 1st – Henry’s Fork Float – Water temp at launch 5o degrees, later 54 degrees
The only reason the Henry’s Fork float took place second is Thursday had the best weather forecast. The HF can get really windy and if it is an upstream wind, it can really affect your rowing. I chose to float it Thursday because the wind forecast was surprisingly low. You always have to add 5-10mph to any forecast for Ashton, though. The weather was just awesome! Warm but not hot, and almost calm winds. It did pick up some in the afternoon but not enough to affect the fishing. By the time I trailered the boat at 6:30pm, it had become calm again. A lovely end to the day.
When you pull into the parking area and there are only 5 other trailers, that’s a really good sign! Sure it’s a Thursday and early season, but the reposrts were out that the caddis hatch was under full steam and that kind of news should get fishermen out. It was the stop at World Cast Anglers in Victor before I headed north that confirmed it for me. I stopped by and got a glowing report from one of my favorite friends at the shop.
Molly and I launched without incident and I was surprised to find two boats staging near the ramp. It can get crazy down there and I feel it would be best and make things go smoother at the ramp if all boats staged up in the lot. As we got underway, thee is a flat on river left of the current seam, so I drifted down a ways and anchored. Scanning for rises or heads. I had another spot a little further down where the flat opens up and I often see rising fish. I anchored again at river left and there were swarms of caddis everywhere! However, no heads at all. Weird, but although some caddis were touching the surface, there were no caddis floating downstream on the surface. So I rigged tandem soft hackles, two different caddis pupa, one with a gold bead that would help get the rig down. The flat where I was standing was only kness deep and the current suspended my flies at about 6 inches below the surface. There is no doubt in my mind that these fish would be looking for emerging caddis and looking up. While working the area systematically, I managed two small rainbows. So my theory was correct that the fish would be targeting emergers, but I was wondering, where were the big fish?
Still no heads as we moved down river. Most of the boats moved over to river right where the current was strongest, but I stayed on river left, slower current and a shallower flat suitable for wading. And then only a few feet from the bank, I saw my first head and I maneuvered the boat into position 15 feet below the rise. My Scott G2 3wt was rigged with a six foot leader and two sections of tippet. Three feet of 4.5X Trout Hunter fluoro and three feet of 5.5X fluoro, so 12 feet total. As I readied myself and got out of the boat, I maintained my position below the fish but waded out a ways to get the proper angle on the fish. The goal is to cast above the fish 3 feet or so and never allow your leader or line to spook the fish. If you have the right angle, the only thing the fish sees is the fly and the tippet. Even though there were a few different sizes of caddis hatching, I saw sizes in 14, 16 and 18, I always go with the smallest size. For me, the X-Caddis is the caddis equivalent of the mayfly crippple. It has a short wing and a trailing shuck, making it helpless. So I tied on a size 18 X-caddis with a black body. If it works, great! If not, I start going lighter. Also, I tie my X-Caddis with a very sparse wing, in keeping with the cripple concept, but also the fly rides low as if it it struggling to emerge.
So the big head kept rising and on my third cast, I had the timing and the range right and he ate, and we were off to the races! Big HF trout are so athletic! Because I had him on my three weight, I could stick it to him and not worry about breaking my 5.5X tippet on the take. Upon feeling the hook in his mouth he raced out toward the middle of the river and the deeper water with faster current. I had to use a lot of side pressure to steer him back toward the bank, but the were several runs before I had the leader towards the tip of the rod. Of course, at that point he could see me and I knew already from his dogged fioghting style that this was a big brown. But, I didn’t realize how big til I had him in the net. And then OMG! He measured about 19″!
Because I was solo, there will be no hero photos in this post. I always prefer to keep my fish wet and usually don’t lift them out of the water, which is another advantage to wading. But the hero shots make tha angler and the look really good!
After releasing the fish, I realized that the hatch was intensifying. I started to see more heads. So I targeted another active riser and got another eat and landed another 19″ brown. Wash, rinse, repeat. In total I landed a couple in the 17-18″ range, lost a couple in that same range right at the net and then landed a 20 incher! The last fish before the hatch was off was out closer toward the middle and that fish was a 17″ rainbow. Such an amazing day! One of, if not my best day on the Henry’s Fork ever, based solely on the number of big fish and the fact that I could get all of them by wading and not even having to move the boat! After the hatch, Molly and I kept looking for more heads but didn’t find any and we decided to call it a day.
May 1st – Henry’s Fork Float – Water temp at launch 52 degrees, later 54 degrees
It wasn’t my plan to fish the HF a second day, but after having such an awesome day the day before, I wanted more! Fridays can be pretty busy, but when we arrived at the lot, there were only 4 trailers parked. I thought wow! This is great!! We launched again without issue and as I was getting situated, I took the water temp and discovered it was already 52 degrees. And although we launched at about the same time as the day before, I realized the hatch might be earlier. With that, I decided to make a beeline to the same spot, actually nervous that a boat could already be anchored there. As we approached, I was relieved to see that we had the spot to ourselves. And yes, there was already a single fish rising. My rig was the same as the day before – 3 wt Scott G2 with a size 18 X-Caddis. And this fish ate just like the fish the day before. When I landed that 19″ brown, I could swear it was one of the fish I landed the day before! Crazy! It was deja vu all over again! Except, not exactly. The hatch was nowhere near as robust and as a result, fewer fish got into the game. It took awhile for me to land the next fish. Then, for the longest time, maybe for a half hour there was a darker fish, perhaps a tad smaller that was rising regularly and no matter how great the cast, he kept refusing my fly. I even made a couple of fly changes, no dice! NBRs (Nothing But Refusals)! Finally, a second fish was rising only about 8′ away. I put the black X-Caddis back on and he ate on the first cast! Go figure! Another 19″ brown in the net. And then, the hatch was done. So Molly and I made our way down river, keeping our eyes peeled for more heads, but we didn’t see any. And that was the end of the day! However, three big fish on a dry fly is an awesome day!
The Trifecta
Three awesome fishing days in a row! Yes, It happens but it is something that doesn’t happen that often. I’m so grateful.
