Important Message for Jackson Hole Trout Unlimited Members 📢 With July’s hot weather and low natural streamflow leading to warm water temperatures, Wyoming Game and Fish Department has issued a voluntary warm-water catch-and-release closure from noon to sunrise on (1) the Snake River from the Yellowstone Park boundary to Palisades, and (2) Flat Creek.
For catch and release anglers, Game and Fish asks that fishing be focused between sunrise and noon when water temperatures are cooler. In addition to getting out early, consider carrying a pocket thermometer to check water temperatures.
Game and Fish recommends harvesting fish rather than practicing catch-and-release above 65 degrees, and stopping catch-and-release fishing entirely at 70 degrees.
🌡️ Across the watershed, the Buffalo Fork, Fish Creek, and Hoback remain the coolest sites with real-time temperature data. Water temperatures in these reaches remain in the upper 50s and low 60s through the morning and into the early afternoon.
🌦 Monsoonal rainstorms continue to cause quick spikes in turbidity on tributaries across the Headwaters and slow the decline of natural streamflow.
💧 Both Jackson Lake and Palisades continue to draft. With outflow remaining near 5,000 cfs, Jackson Lake is currently 59% full, compared to 76% on average. The Colter Bay boat ramp closed on July 21st, and the water level will likely drop below the elevation of the ramp within the next week.
💧 Palisades is currently 25% full, compared to 73% on average. Outflow was dropped from just over the 13,000 to 11,500 cfs over the past week.
For more information about the voluntary closure, visit the link in the bio
– Dr. Sarah Newcomb, TU’s Snake River Headwaters Watershed Scientist