This past month the fishing generally through the system has been as good as you can get including Stacks of Bows and trophy Browns. I saw two Bows from my boat at Rim, between 4 and 5 lb and a number of Browns from 2 to 6lb in other zones of the White. You cannot beat that. This last week the hatchery also started to stock the smaller Cutts into the rivers, so you will see those guys show up before too long. Many of the smaller Browns stocked this last fall are very active at this time, in the back water eddies and slacker water zones. Stocking levels at this time of the year are also high for both rivers.
Typically the days of July and August can be uncomfortable, at the very least to be out in the river in a heat wave. If they run good water, that certainly has the effect of keeping the water temps down and the fish in an active feeding mode. Even then the early and later times of the day are often way more productive. That's also the time bugs hatch and the invertebrate food sources move around, along with the sculpin and crawdads.
Early dawn fishing has always been a passion of mine. The fish will be up surface feeding on the spinners, the emerging and spent chironomids, midges and the many terrestrial bugs that have become drowned during the night time activity. If you go late, you will never see that activity.
At such times, the trophy Browns will also be on patrol before the light intensity sends them into hiding or at least the resting times that they prefer during the day time periods.
As we all know, generation varies from day to day. The challenge is to work with what we have here, whether high or low water. That's what makes the White and Norfork rivers so interesting compared to other systems that have more constant flow rates.
My obvious choices for fishing at this time of the year will be flies that imitate the food base of fish taking in or off the surface.
That will include: dry and emerger patterns, soft hackles and wet fly patterns.
Scuds will be an active food source along with chironomid imitations fished at depth on indicator rigs.
Many fly fishers also do not consider the importance of caddis larva. They are also very active at this time of the year, so stick fly imitations and peeping caddis imitations can be killer at times here.
Also fishing larger streamers early and late may well produce for you a trophy fish.
High water drift techniques, larger flies and those with color may be needed due to water speed---particularly if the river is not clean of debris and trash.
If you are drifting on high water sink tips and intermediate lines with streamers, casting into and off shorelines and around structure can be a good bet.
The recent high water certainly has scoured some of the didymo from the BSD zone, but it has not by any means cleaned off the substrate to a natural base. In fact yesterday at the White hole, l was amazed to see the didymo stacked up several feet below the boat ramp, that being the result of generation that had caused it to settle there.
Overall expect good fishing this month. Water levels will of course determine locations to fish if you wade. BSD and the Norfork will have overall lower water temps, so bear that also in mind if we have low flow rates. You might also consider a trip to the Spring River. It is an underestimated fishery; but not one always easy to crack, unless you fish by the hatchery outlet.
Tight lines.
Davy.
American International Schools of Fly FishingOutfitter and guide service.Custom flies and Fly Fish DVD's
