Spring Creek · Mixed · Idaho, US

Teton River

Teton River venue image

The upper Teton, up in the valley under the back side of the Tetons, is a spring-fed meadow river — slow, weedy, clear, and technical, with native Yellowstone cutthroat and rainbows that tip up to mayflies and refuse anything clumsy.

Tomorrow · About as good as it gets
Pink Shrimp
Forecast · Tomorrow
About as good as it gets
On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
75% projected
Today's fly
Pink Shrimp
Pink Shrimp
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.77 m
Water temp11.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather13°C
WindN 7 km/h
Pressure1012 hPa
Rain · recent4.2 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Cutthroat Trout
Ideal
11°C est.ideal 9–15°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Cutthroat Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Good — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Western Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 91%
Also:Black Midge40%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost4 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Western Blue-Winged Olive (Western Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Western Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Pale Morning DunHatch
2
3
3
2
TricoHatch
2
3
2
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Cutthroat Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Idaho licence
  • Native cutthroat conservation rules apply — check Idaho Fish & Game
  • Approach the clear meadow water carefully.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 4
Fall River
29 km
79
Rainbow trout · Cutthroat trout
Warm River
37 km
Rainbow trout · Brook trout
South Fork Snake River
42 km
80
Cutthroat trout · Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Snake River
54 km
76
Cutthroat trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The upper Teton, up in the valley under the back side of the Tetons, is a spring-fed meadow river — slow, weedy, clear, and technical, with native Yellowstone cutthroat and rainbows that tip up to mayflies and refuse anything clumsy. It's quiet, gorgeous water that asks for a careful approach and a long leader. Below the valley the river drops into a canyon and turns into a different, brawnier animal. The green drake hatch up top is the event people plan around, and it's worth planning around.

  • Mixed
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Teton River' (ID17040204SK017_04), 2022 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Temperature, Sediment, Habitat Alterations. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · ID17040204SK017_04

The full read · show the working · for Cutthroat Trout · confidence 90%
How the 78 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature93 × 28%26.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity54 × 12%6.5
Conditions total= 78
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout Saturday of Memorial Day weekend → 30 November
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts