Fishing Report - June 6, 2025

Upper River

At flows around 400 cfs and below expect to bang a few rocks if your floating down Box Canyon, the river is very low! The salmon flies will likely start to disappear this week and the Goldens will be around from here on until July.  You can have good luck on smaller perdigons and and PT’s. When it is overcast it never hurts to strip a streamer. If you like chucking meat, that is your time. Bright colors are working like a Flash and Grab #4 in the Box. Black or Olive Sculpin patterns if you're feeling edgy or just tired of pretending you're a dry fly purist. The river at Last Chance can fish good as well, there has still been some caddis around. Try a size 16 Mathews X-caddis or a size 16 Hackle Stack Caddis Peacock . It also never hurts to drop a Lawson’s Partridge Caddis Emerger size 16 olive or tan below your dry. 

Riverside Campground down to Ashton

All the campgrounds are open including Riverside. There is limited access to the river until you get down to the Stone Bridge at the confluence of Warm River. The Salmon flies are waning off and the Golden Stones are here, try a Henrys Fork Foam Golden Stone.  This is pocket water, so fishing in front of and behind rocks will be decent. A lot of fish can be caught in the middle of the river and less on the banks. This is due to the river being low. Golden Stone dries are the game. These hatches overlap with the Salmon flies and can be found throughout the river. Patterns such as Lawson’s HF Golden Stone and Eldens Golden Stone are recommended. If you get the right drift, you will get plenty of fish on the surface.  We are getting lots of fish of on the HF Foam Golden Stone size 8 and 10, The boat ramp is accessible from Stone bridge down to either Jump off or the county boat dock. Right before dark there has been some caddis action. Try the Missing Link Tan #14. 

Ashton Dam to St. Anthony

The boat ramps are open and there are lots of boats and anglers Please be respectful of other anglers. The salmon flies have mostly gone away and the golden stones are here. Fishing a caddis pattern in the evenings has been productive. Try a Henrys Fork Foam Golden Stone #8 and #10. The EZ Caddis Tan #16 with a size #16 Lawson Partridge Caddis Emerger as a dropper is deadly during the last hour of daylight. The PMD hatch is right around the corner, so if nymphing is your game, try a split case PMD nymph size 16 below a size 8 Pat’s Rubberlegs. It also can be fun dragging a streamer through some of the deep runs on a dark day. I like copper zonker #4 or a Hen Saddle Matuka #4. Usually emerging around mid-June, some green darkes have been spotted on the lower HF. Flies like the #12 Lawson’s Extended Body or the Hairwing Green Drake #10 are popular choices. PMD’s, These mayflies are abundant and can be found from mid-June through August. Effective patterns include CDC Biot Duns and Rusty Spinners in sizes 16-18.

Madison River

We are approaching runoff time here. This river has been high and off color due the recent warm weather, this river may need to run its course with runoff for the next few weeks. If you do decide to fish, you can try Crack back jig PMD or San Juan Worm red or pink size 8-12 under a chubby next to the bank.

Teton River

The river will be high and off color likely until we approach the first part of July. If you do decide to go here, please be careful. This is a small river but is the drainage for the entire western side of the Teton Mountains. There is a lot of water that comes through the Teton River during runoff, so it can be dangerous trying to float or wade. If you do fish it, use heavy nymphs and streamers. 

South Fork of the Snake

Keep a close eye on the flows, the river may shape up earlier this year if the weather stays on this track. All the boat ramps are open. The river is fishable but a bit off color still. You can do decent with nymphs and streamers because not much dry fly fishing. I like using Pat’s Rubberlegs size 8 in brown and dropping a Red Napolean Jig size 16 or 18 or just a standard size 16 Tungsten Hares Ear  The Idaho Department of Fish and Game encourage the harvest of rainbow trout on all stretches of the South Fork. This is to protect the native Cutthroat trout. There is no limit on rainbows and some of the rainbows have monetary reward tags in the fish. If do harvest any rainbows cut the head off and deliver to the regional IDFG office in Idaho Falls and they will scan the head to see if a reward tag is in it. The max reward is $1000.