7th, 8th and 9th Day of Fly Fishing – Green River March 27th-28th, Henry’s Fork April 1st, 2026
This year the Blue WIng Olives (BWOs) came early. Thanks to very little winter in the Rockies and warmer temperatures, everything is early. So my normal trips to the Green that in the past were targeting BWOs in mid-April, this year I decided to move the first one up a couple of weeks. The fact that I had a group of friends who were planning that trip certainly influenced my decision.
Friday was a walk and wade trip and we found a spot not too far from Little Hole. The run was loaded with fish and we had a few people fishing it at a time and taking turns. Throughout the day everyone caught fish and most were caught on some form of BWO or baetis pattern. I managed two on a dry and another few on emergers.
But as I said above, everyone was catching fish!
Anyway, the first day was a great day! Next, we all (seven of us) packed into a VRBO in Dutch John, had a lovely spaghetti and meatball dinner and watched March Madness!
On Saturday, most of our group decided to float the A section of the Green. We got a really late start thanks to a really awesome breakfast! So I decided opt out on the float as I was headed back to SLC at the end of the day and needed to be on the road before they were to be back at the ramp.
Because the spot the day before was so productive I decided to fish it again. However my plans were thwarted because a fisherman had already moved into the spot. Not to be easily defeated, I moved up to a run upstream that was still close enough that I could keep an eye on that fisherman. There was no hatch happening, so I decided to fish a leech pattern. On my third cast, I hooked a very stubbborn and powerful “mutant brown” (see below). This fish was maybe only 19″ long, but had to be 4lbs! Playing him on my Scott G2 4wt with 4.5X tippet, plus we were in a fair amount of current.
After that fish, I was pretty stoked knowing that there would be more. Turns out, without moving my feet, I caught nine smaller rainbows on the same leech. Before long, I realized the other fisherman was moving off of his spot, so I made my way downstream. Getting on the spot, I I fished the leech but after having no action, changed to a BWO emerger. Still the spot wasn’t fishing, and I was considering leaving. But after another fly change, I started getting grabs on a size 18 BWO soft hackle. First a couple of smaller fish and then a nice 16″ brown.
At this point, the day was getting on and I was thinking about calling it a day. Then this happened………….
In summary, two days on the Green, both days very productive! And as always, great fun hanging with my crew!!
Blue Wings on the Henry’s Fork
Only a few days later I was up at my cabin in Victor, Idaho. After spending a couple of days tying flies and getting the cabin ready for spring, I was all set to get out and fish. The weather had been crappy that week with lots of clouds and wind and some rain. I chose Wednesday as we winds were to be lighter but still with overcast skies.
Knowing that if there I arrived around 11:30 am and by the time I was on the water, it was closer to 12:30. The water temp when I arrived was 48 degrees and I figured it still needed to rise a few degrees to get the hatch going. At the time I stepped into the water, there was no evidence of rising trout, so I tied on a leech pattern and began to swing it through the run. The first hookup came quickly. It was a nice chunky brown and a good fighter. Because it was a good flat, I systematically worked it, swinging the fly and then taking two steps, repeat.
Fifty yards downstream and no other fish. Hmm. Then a splashy rise just upstream of me, and then a head. I saw midges on the water and as I was changing out my tippet and fly anticipating a hatch, more rises! So I held my rod and watched. Looking at the water, I saw them……Blue Wings! They were a little size 18, not the 16s nad 14s you usually find in the spring.
Heads were beginning to pop all around me. I started with a size 18 last chance cripple. I usually have better luck with a cripple rather than a dun. Because of the size 18, I took my tippet down to 5.5X. I just love Trout Hunter and their half sizes! The leader I keep on my 3wt is a 9′ 6X that I shorten to 5X, or there abouts with a tippet ring. Next I add tippet lengths appropriate for the fly and the venue. The is the Henry’s Fork! And I tied on a Last Chance cripple! My first eat came inside the first 20 casts and I now had several targets to chose from. I don’t pound the same fish over and over again. They see the same fly 5 or 10 times in a short period of time and they will just flat out refuse it. But this fish took the fly and I landed a decent rainbow. Next after a bit, I had a second fish on the cripple, another, smaller rainbow.
After the second fish, they were done with the cripple, so I tied on a dun. I probably should have gone for a comparadun, but they would be on another day. The change helped. Before long I had my third fish on a dry, a really nice 17 incher! It was now 1pm and the hatch was still going. The fish were getting tougher. There were a lot of naturals on the water, so the fish always had a choice. So many times, a fish rose right in front of my fly.
The hatch ended around 2:30pm and my last fish came to hand around 2pm. Anyway, it was a great day and extremely challenging at the same time. But hey, that the Henry’s Fork!
