March is here and the flows on the Green are drastically changing. We will no longer see a double peaking flow and instead see a constant flow of 800 CFS. There will be a gradual ramping down of flows until March 6 when the new constant release will go into effect. I don’t think the low flows will effect the fishing too much because the fish and aquatic life have seen 1,100 CFS everyday for the past 3 months. Snowpack in the Upper Green River and Lower Green River Drainages are sitting at 103 and 97 percent respectively. Current water temperatures are around 37 degrees Fahrenheit.
Winter fishing has been fantastic on the Green. I just spent a week out there and did not see another boat on the water. The lower and constant flows will change the feeding patterns of the fish, but there are enough midges around and some baetis to allow the fish to quickly adjust to the change.
It’s still Winter, so streamer fishing will continue to remain quite productive. The rule I tend to follow when throwing streamers is on bright days use bright colors and on dark days use darker colors. I have been proven wrong on more than a few occasions with this mindset so don’t be afraid to change it up. This past week, the best streamers for me were the articulated goldie and a ginger peanut envy. Some of my other go to patterns in the winter are a gold woolly bugger, the peanut envy in olive or black, the dungeon in black, cream, natural, olive or white, or a black or white sculpzilla.
With the lower flows, you will be able to target the fish honed in on midges and baetis a whole lot easier. I usually like to target the fish feeding during this hatch with a dry dropper rig. If the fish are feeding higher up in the feeding lane or on the surface, use a smaller cluster midge to hold up either a zebra midge or a gray soft hackle. If the fish are deeper, use a chubby Chernobyl ant with a heavier and longer dropper to get down to them. For the non picky eaters, a mother shucker, Griffith’s gnat, or crippled baetis will do the trick. For single point dry fly fishing I like to use 5x or 6x tippet. For dry dropper fishing, I like to use 4x tippet to the dry fly and 5x or 6x to the dropper.
Nymphing will continue to remain productive. Usually getting down deep with an egg pattern, San Juan worm, zebra midge, juju baetis, or a scuds will do the trick.