Fishing Report | Idaho Fly Fishing | Teton Valley Lodge

Dec
18

Cutthroat Trout Populations are Stable in Idaho

by Matt Berry

REXBURG, Idaho – The broad-based surveys showed Yellowstone cutthroat were the most widely distributed, and at 2 million fish, the most abundant trout in the state. Catch trends showed the trout were within 4 percent of the catch rates from 1980 to 2000. The findings showed the cutthroat population trends to be stable. “We also studied genetic purity,” Moore said. Those findings showed that Yellowstone cutthroat trout populations have their own genetic profile in each drainage studied. The research gave the agency a scientific basis for managing the trout to keep the populations steady.

Under its state authority, IFG has two ways to manage fish populations, Moore said. It can regulate the catch by setting seasons and limits and it can adjust the way it stocks hatchery fish. The research backs up the management decisions. And it was the push to keep the trout off the ESA list that provided the data. “In response to the data, we stopped stocking rainbows in high mountain lakes,” Moore said. That’s because the data showed nonnative trout, such as the rainbows, were the biggest threat to the cutthroat population. Catch limits and size limits were also put in place. Before the actions, the species was overfished with a 72 percent mortality rate annually. “Once we got the rules in place to protect the fish, catch is not a limiting factor,” Moore said.

Recent Catches

by Matt Berry

A few photos of some recent catches and some happy fly fishermen. The South Fork and Henrys Fork are both fishing well. The South Fork is high but we are catching good numbers of fish. Several anglers have stated they have caught more fish this season than any other. The Henrys Fork is having terrific bug hatches of green drakes, golden stones, mayflies and caddis.

0 Categories : Fishing Report, Hatch, Henry's Fork, Idaho, Rivers, South Fork

Jun
30

River Conditions Looking Good

by Matt Berry

Have you heard the rivers in our area are blown out? Well they aren’t. The South Fork is flowing at or near it’s historical mean. The river fished quite well, on 6/29/11, even better than the Henry’s Fork. Small and medium sized golden stoneflies are beginning to hatch.

The Henrys Fork is flowing higher than its average for this time of year, but that is a good thing. The Henry’s Fork for several years has been lower than ideal at this time of year. The level of the river right now is fantastic.

The only river right now that is quite high is the Teton River. It is still not as high as it was in 1997. We don’t plan on fishing much on the Teton in the next week. There are however a couple stretches fishing ok right now.

2 Categories : Fishing Report, Henry's Fork, Idaho, Rivers, South Fork, Teton, Water, Weather

May
9

Teton River Fishing Report

by Matt Berry

The Idaho Fish and Game has recently published a report of the Teton River from a 2010 study. The department interviewed fishermen along the river. These anglers were asked to identify the trout species in the river, their catch rates and what fish were harvested.

Fish identification quizzes on the river’s bank indicated most anglers could identify trout species present in the Teton River. Rainbow trout were most accurately identified with 98% of the anglers correctly identifying them followed by Yellowstone cutthroat trout (94%), brown trout (81%), and brook trout (80%).

Angler catch rates were just shy of one fish per hour, and caught an estimated 53,761 fish. Catch was comprised of Yellow-stone cutthroat trout (40%), rainbow trout (22%), brook trout (27%), and mountain whitefish (11%).

Total harvest was low, at 1,183 trout – 98% of captured trout were released. Although closed to harvest, a small portion of the fish observed in anglers creel was cutthroat trout. Based on observations, 6% of harvested fish were cutthroat trout, 50% were rainbow trout, and 44% were brook trout.

Anglers spent nearly 57,000 hours fishing the Teton River in 2010. This is light fishing pressure compared to the neighboring South Fork which had over 233,000 angler hours in 2005. Over 80% of anglers were fly fishing, while 11% were bait fishing and 7% were fishing with lures. Anglers were most often fishing from a boat (71% of the anglers) instead of wading or fishing from the bank (29% of anglers), and most Teton River anglers were Idaho residents (60%).

Read more and download the recent IDFG report:
Upper Snake Region Annual Fisheries Report Activities and Accomplishments

0 Categories : Fish, fish and game, Fishing Report, Idaho, Rivers, Teton

Jul
28

South Fork fly fishing is red hot.

by Matt Berry

Heather with a 23 1/2 inch hybrid

WC and a 28 x 16 hybrid

The big boys are out on the South Fork of the Snake. Both these monsters ate dry flies. The river is alive with not only big trout, but lots of fish too.

2 Categories : Fish, Fishing Report, Photos, Rivers, South Fork