Southwest Wyoming Fishing Report

There is still a lot of snow out there. Snowpack in the Upper Green River Drainage is at 100 percent of normal, the Lower Green River Drainage is at 89 percent, and the Upper Bear Drainage is at 117 percent. With all the snow and cooler temperatures, peak runoff is still awhile away. Runoff is beginning to increase the flows into Fontenelle Reservoir and are currently at 4,500 CFS, but will get much higher in the coming days. Flows coming out of Fontenelle continue to hold around 1,750 CFS. Those will probably increase within the coming days as well.

There has been a lot of midge activity on the days that the wind doesn’t blow the bugs off the water and lots of baetis are around as well. If you are nymphing, scuds, San Juan worms, midges, and baetis will get the job down. The dry fly fishing is pretty subpar, but if you see some fish rising you can get them with a cluster midge or a baetis cripple. The streamer fishing has been fair. Fish the slower, deeper runs with darker streamers and you should have some success. Water clarity has also been an issue due to snowmelt and quite a bit of rain over the past few days.

Green River Fishing Report

Flows have changed quite a bit since my last report. The steady release on 968 CFS is no longer the case. The nighttime flow is 950 CFS, it increases to 2,025 CFS at 8 AM, and then to 2,500 CFS at 5 PM. The Upper Green River Drainage is sitting at 103 percent of average snowpack and the Lower Green River Drainage is sitting at 106 percent of average. River temperatures are around 43 degrees Fahrenheit.

With the constant changing of the weather patterns, fishing can be fantastic or just good. In the mornings and the afternoons the midge hatch has been pretty thick. Around 12:30, more and more blue winged olives are showing up every day. This is starting to make for some great fishing on Lower A and Upper B. As the hatch continues to get thicker the fishing will be getting better and better. In short, fish are still honed in on midges and scuds in the morning. In the afternoon, the fish are feeding on the baetis moving around. The streamer bite has still been pretty good on the Upper River on overcast days with the white Sculpzilla, the Articulated Goldie, and the Olive Peanut Envy.

Due to melting snow up in Wyoming, Red Creek is flowing and the lower river is pretty off color. Therefore, the fishing has been consistently inconsistent on the lower river. If the river clarity is good, the streamer bite has been decent and you will see fish feeding on baetis in the afternoons.

For dry dropper fishing, I am always a fan of the Chubby Chernobyl Ant. Mainly because it is ridiculously easy to see, but even during this time of the year a fish will occasionally eat it. I am fishing either a zebra midge or baetis between 2 to 3 feet below the dry.

There is no shortage of flies that will catch a fish during a midge or baetis hatch. Some of my favorite dries are a peacock cluster midge, Matt’s Midge, the Mother Shucker, CDC Baetis Dun, the Film Critic, or a Baetis Cripple.

When I am nymphing on Upper A, I’m fishing a small gray scud and a zebra midge. Once the Baetis hatch gets going on Lower A and Upper B, I am still nymphing a zebra midge because of all the midges still around and a baetis emerger. The Radiation Baetis and a Flashback Pheasant Tail have been my go to emerger patterns lately.

Provo River Fishing Report

The Provo River Drainage is looking at a snowpack that is 155 percent of average. This is great news, given the past few years. Check the weather and layer accordingly. It could be 60 degrees or it could be 20 degrees on the river. Flows are beginning to increase on the Provo, but are currently at great levels for fishing. On the Middle Provo, releases out of the Jordanelle Reservoir are at 302 CFS and the flows at Charleston are at 311 CFS. Below Deer Creek Reservoir the flows are at 328 CFS. The river temperature is around 39 degrees Fahrenheit.

The midge hatch is still around, but not as intense as it was a couple of weeks ago. The baetis are also still showing up on cloudy days. Mayflies love riffles so if you see any sign of baetis (bugs that look like sailboats on the water) you should get to a riffle tail out as soon as possible. In that water you can fish dry flies, swing soft hackles, or nymph. There are also some Skwala stoneflies that show up on some bright sunny day. Keep an eye out for those.

Flies I like this time of year:

Dries: Cluster midge, Matt’s midge, CDC baetis dun, and Baetis cripple.

Nymphs: Juju Baetis, zebra midge, cardinal midge, and a sow bug.

If you are fishing streamers, I always go small on the Provo. Sculpzillas and Zonkers in white, black, or olive are my spring time favorites.

Weber River Fishing Report

Water releases from Rockport Reservoir are at 215 CFS. By Coalville the flows are around 273 CFS. Below Echo the Weber is flowing at 183 CFS. Throughout the I 84 canyon the Weber picks up a lot more water and is flowing at about 1,200 CFS once it gets to Ogden. Snowpack in the Weber River Drainage is sitting at 139 percent of normal. Due to snowmelt the Upper and Lower Weber are kind of out of the picture for fishing, but it is game on between Wanship and Coalville.

When trying to fish the Weber this time of the year, you will find the fish heavily concentrated in the deeper runs. They love sow bugs, especially the tailwater sow in a size 16 or 18. You will see some baetis activity, but not nearly as much as you will find on the Provo. Usually a purple or natural juju baetis in a size 18 will do the trick. There is also some spring midge activity on the Weber. Again not nearly as much as on the Provo, but fish will hone in on smaller gray and dark midges earlier in the day. I would cover that activity with a size 22 gray WD40 or a smaller zebra midge. I have heard of a few people throwing streamers on the Weber. The white or natural zonker as been the streamer of choice for those anglers.

Any day now the flows will begin to ramp up. Spring is in the air. Look for caddis activity to start heating up in the coming weeks.