Well..........it has been a while since I have sent out a fishing report. It seems like time is getting more precious as we try to figure out our new life with baby Maggie. She is growing like crazy, starting to giggle, and becoming much more calm. No doubt there are still lots of sleepless nights but hopefully that will improve with time. These first three months have been an amazing process. I want to thank all of you for your words of encouragement as Bonnie and I try to walk our way through becoming parents.
We left for our annual summer to Idaho the third week of June. We were scared of the drive with the 3 month old but we pulled it off in one long day. About 16 hours of driving got us back to our summer home. It was such a blessing that we made it out in one piece. We will be out here through the first week of September and then will be ready to kick off another fall guide season by September 20th.
In this report you will find a detailed report of Western Wyoming/Eastern Idaho Water Outlook, the South Fork of the Snake, Lower Henrys Fork, and openings for fall fishing.
WESTERN WY / EASTERN ID WATER CONDITIONS:
Well there is tons of water out here. According to the locals this is the most snow that they have had in over 100 years. I have heard snow totals from 175-225% of the normal annual precipitation amounts. All of the rivers from Jackson Hole to Idaho Falls are all blown out. The freestone rivers are completely flooded and water is up to the tops of the banks. A local favorite river of mine is called the Salt River. Currently the Salt is so high it has overflowed its banks and is running through hay fields. The tailwaters are still at fishable flows but water clarity is still a big issue. Most tailwaters in our local area are looking at about 10-18" of visibility. The water is not complete chocolate but definitely on the brown side.
If you are planning on coming out this way this summer then I would postpone your trip to at least the third week of July. There is still tons of snow in the mountains. Currently it looks like it normally does in the first of June. So I figure that we are about a month behind from normal water conditions. One great thing is that the late season stuff should be awesome. For those of you that love to come out to the Rockies after the Labor Day crowds should find excellent water conditions and fishing. I don't know what Montana, Western Idaho, or Eastern Wyoming look like but I have to assume things are similar in those parts of the states.
I hope this helps you plan your annual trip.
SOUTH FORK SNAKE REPORT:
The South Fork has been really tough this week. The biggest issue here has been both the volume of water and the clarity. Currently the river is running at 24,000 cfs. On the upper stretches near the dam the clarity is 12". Once you get down into the lower part of the canyon the clarity is down to about 8". So needless to say there are not lots of boats on the water. The good news is that the Yellow Sallies, Salmonflies, and PMDS have begun hatching in large numbers. Now the issue is getting the clarity of the water to a state where the fish can see them. Both days on the river we landed 10+ trout and lost several others. But as most of you know for S. Fork standards that is super tough. The hot flies were eggs, san juans, and rubberlegs. Pretty much anything big and buggy will catch fish.
Right now the outlook is by the latter part of July things should get really good. That is when I expect that the Golden Stones and PMDS should be in full swing. The Salmon Fly Hatch this year might be hit and miss due to the water clarity. But truthfully isn't that the way the Salmon Fly Hatch always is. It seems like you are always one week to early or late. That mystical hatch is one of those things where you should have been here last week.
Expect some great late season fishing on the South Fork. As I expect is the same for the rest of the Rockies.
LOWER HENRYS FORK REPORT:
Well right now the only game in the area is the Henrys Fork. The water is a little high on Henrys but the clarity is perfect. It is literally the only clear water for hundreds of miles. The Lodge at Palisades Creek was able to get an emergency permit for the Lower Henrys Fork from St. Anthony down to the confluence. So two days ago I guided my first ever trip down a piece of that stretch completely blind. I got the call the night before that they were able to get the permit and the next day I was guiding on the Henrys Fork. So I went over there having no idea what to expect and it turned out to be a decent day. When I got to the river I was introduced to the largest grey drake spinner fall that I have ever seen. The fishing was good with lots of rainbows/browns in the 18-19" range. The rowing was fairly technical on this stretch and it really made me pay attention to every rock. I have to admit that I got puckered a few times but we were able to make it down safely. It was a lot of driving from my place with roundtrip taking 220+ miles. But at least I was able to get some work in and throw dry flies. Looks like the next 10 days or so the Lodge is going to be pushing that as the guests best option. It should be an interesting learning curve.
For those of you that are looking to do some fishing this fall the sooner you book your dates the better. Weekends have already begun to fill up. You don't want to miss those prime dates for the egg bite in Septmber/October on the Yuba, October on the Sac, and November on the Feather. Below you can find my current openings with suggested river recommendations.
FALL EGG BITE BOOKINGS IN CA:
Yuba Egg Bite: September 20, 22-26, 28-30 & October 1-5
Yuba/Sac Egg Bite: October 6-14, 16-20, 25-28, 30-31
Feather Egg Bite: October 25-28, 30-31 & November 1-25
Summer 2011: Call the Lodge at Palisades Creek to Book your trip (208-483-2222)
I hope all of you have a great summer and are able to get some much needed dry fly fishing in at your favorite creek or river. Come check out the South Fork of the Snake if you have never been out here before. It is one of those special places that all people need to experience.
Tight Lines!
Guiding out here on some of the best trout waters of the west coast, it is my goal to fill your memory bank with plenty of fish tales, big and small!
Well things have finally started to get good out here in Idaho. The water on the South Fork of the Snake is still big at 21,000 cfs but the clarity is now to a green 3 feet of visibility. With the increased visibility the fishing has gotten much better. The last two days on the river has resulted in hooking 30+ trout. Right now it seems like the upper is fishing the best from the Irwin Slide down to the Spring Creek Bridge. The name of the game is still nymphing but yesterday in the canyon I finally saw some suspended fish sipping yellow sallies. The yellow sally hatches have been huge so by next week I think the dry fly game is going to be on. Usually when it starts it is nymphing in the morning and then switching to dries for the afternoon hatch. That game plan lets you stay on more fish throughout the entire day. Right now the hot flies are Rubberlegs (6), Red/Pink San Juans, Lightning Bug(12), and a drowned small Stimulator. The drowned Stimi is to represent a sunken yellow sally. The good news is that things are improving. Tough fishing last week has turned into lots of smiles and trout grabs. It is definitely a relief and much easier to get excited about going fishing. Hope you are all well.
Tight Lines!
Guiding out here on some of the best trout waters of the west coast, it is my goal to fill your memory bank with plenty of fish tales, big and small!
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! Heading out next week and was so worried about South Fork. Sounds like maybe for once in my life I wont have to listen to shoulda been here last week or, next week will be great.
Thanks again for report.
Well things on the South Fork continue to be challenging. It has definitely not been the easiest of summers out here in Idaho. I have been on the water the last 9 days and it seems like with average clients one can expect about a 20 trout day. All of the sections seem to be fishing about the same. Section 4 from Byington to Lorenzo has finally started to fish well. It is crazy how different the river is down there it looks like a bomb went off and dramatically changed the entire river. Complete islands are gone from last year. Pretty impressive what the power of water can do. The name of the game down there has been to keep nymphing. The hot duo has been to throw a rubber legs as your top bug and then trail it by a red san juan worm. Those browns love the worm. The nice thing about the lower river right now is the quality of the fish. Seeing lots of fish in the 16-19" range. Fat and healthy browns. There are some golden stones flying around down there that will get the random fish to come up but your dry fly grabs are few and far between.
Just this week lots of other guides have started to throw dry-dropper rigs for the entire day. It is working for smaller sized fish in the 6-12 inch range. Fishing the canyon with this rig on the faster rocky and foamy banks has been producing good numbers on the lightning bug. Most of the guys who are doing this are pretty much nymphing with a dry as they are only getting 6-8 dry eats a day. This has also been a great plan in the afternoon from dam-lodge. The fishing up there has been so good in the afternoon some of our guides have been doing triple drifts. Fishing from Irwin-Bridge in the morning and then doing Dam to Lodge twice in the afternoon.
The big disappointment this year has been the PMD fishing. There are zero fish in a riffles eating small bugs. Randomly you will find one in the shallows but not anything like it is supposed to be. This has been a big bummer for me as this is my favorite hatch and it produces the most opportunities at sight fishing. I think the majority of our pmds came off in the high muddy water when the fish couldn't see them.
Well what to expect on the South Fork of the Snake? To be honest I have no idea and no other guide out here does either. This is totally uncharted waters for all of us. The water is dropping and the river is down to 9,000 cfs. So that is a good start. Hopefully once things dry out here the hoppers will show up and give us a real boost. I still haven't seen or heard one yet because of the wet conditions but I know they have to come out at some point. If the hopper thing doesn't happen then we are going to be in for a long next month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
For those of you that are more interested in California fishing then I will be returning home on September 13 and will be ready to guide again by the 20th. This is going to be just in time for the famous egg bites on the Yuba, Lower Sac, and Feather. If you are looking for prime dates for some of the best fishing of the year then start looking at your calendars now. THE EGG BITE IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!
If you want to book a date this fall then my openings are below:
September (Yuba): 20, 22-23, 28-30
October (Yuba/Sac): 1-7, 11-14, 16-19, 25-26, 30-31
November (Feather): 1-5, 7-18
I hope you guys are having a great summer. I look forward to getting back to CA to see and fish with all of you again.
Tight Lines!
Guiding out here on some of the best trout waters of the west coast, it is my goal to fill your memory bank with plenty of fish tales, big and small!
Always enjoy your reports, brings back memories of the area... And always makes me a little jealous too!
Headed that way in a few weeks and want to try some kayaking for fish on the SFS. Looking at an above Jackson drift, and a below Jackson drift. Familiar with the river from the road, but not so from a boat.
Is there a resource locally(WY/ID) that might be able to help with some ?? regarding a good day float or half-day float, shuttle, ... etc?
I can definitely help you out on the fishing on the South Fork but I'm not the expert on the fishing above Jackson Hole. I don't venture up there very often. As for the S. Fork a great half day drift is to put in at the Irwin Slide and float to Spring Creek Bridge. The water is totally safe for floating and there are tons of side channels to wade. The guy to call for a shuttle is Steve (208-313-5443). There is enough water there to spend an entire day or just a couple of hours. It just depends on how much time you want to spend on the water.
Hot Bugs to try: Chubby Chernobyl (12), Barrett's Ant (10), Lightning Bug (14), Challenged PMD ( 18 ), Beadless PT ( 18 ).
For Info on the River by Jackson Hole I would give Jack Dennis a call. They have lots of good information for the traveling fisherman. Sorry I cant be of more help there.
Let me know if you need any additional information.
RJ
Guiding out here on some of the best trout waters of the west coast, it is my goal to fill your memory bank with plenty of fish tales, big and small!
Well the last three weeks have been really solid on the South Fork of the Snake. Water finally decided to clear about the first week of August and ever since then it keeps getting better and better. The dry fly fishing is still not even close to normal but there are plenty of opportunities to get those fish on dries if that is your game. But then of course who doesn't like getting fish on dries.
Well I have to admit that is the way that I usually feel.......but if you are up for some nymphing then there are some big browns to be caught on the Heise - Lorenzo drift on the Lower River. In the last couple of weeks I have had several guests that dont mind fishing the indicator and we have hooked some huge brownies. One day we landed 6 fish 18", a 19", 20", 21", and broke off a 23" fish! Days after that my clients were hooking 21-23" daily. Now it doesn't get much better than that. The hot setup has been to have a rubberleg, san juan, and then lightning bug on the bottom. Streamer fishing down there has been solid with plenty of browns willing to chase up a meal on a bright JJ (yellow/brown streamer)
This last week the PMD fishing went off on section 3 from Cottonwood - Byington. All summer I have been waiting for this to happen as this is my favorite style of fishing on the South Fork. In the morning time all one has to do is start searching the rock/foam banks for those suspended fish in the foam. Then put 2 small emergers in front of them and they cant resist. Seriously these fish see an emerger and they move for it every time. But if you miss them once then you have to change the pattern to get them again. The hot emergers have been the pink hackle stacker and pmd challenge. In the afternoons the riffles and flats have been on fire as fish are eating emergers. There are a couple of flats that seriously have over 100 fish in them. About 3PM everything starts to slow down and those last couple of hours are pretty brutal. But who cares when you are getting a solid 6 hours of fishing dries.
Besides that things are going well. Starting to get ready for the famous Jackson Hole One Fly Tournament. This will be my first summer to guide for it. They have asked me the last 2 summers but I have opted out since I have gone home in the end of August. So this year I will give it a try. Maybe some CA kid will ruffle up a few feathers and put some pressure on these ID guides. It should be fun. Stay posted for the results.
For those of you looking to do some fishing this fall things are starting to book up. So start looking at those calendars and get your dates picked out. Below are my openings.
Prime Time Yuba: Sept 20, 23, 29, Oct. 2-6
Prime Time Sac: Oct. 11-13, 16-19, 31
Prime Time Feather: Nov. 1-4, 7-11, 14-18, 20 (Sunday)
Let me know if you guys want to book any dates. Hope you all are doing well and getting some fishing in.
Tight Lines!
Guiding out here on some of the best trout waters of the west coast, it is my goal to fill your memory bank with plenty of fish tales, big and small!
Eastern Idaho / Western WY Report
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