Snake River

Good but inconsistent fishing with the best action happening on the lower reaches from South Park down to Sheep Gulch.  Trout are beginning to pod up in their winter pools, especially ledge rock pools, eddies, and side channels.  Midges are the primary hatch, but BWOs are about in the afternoon most days and can be heavy on those days with cloud cover and precipitation.  And the afternoon is the best time to be on the surface.  Fishing tandem rigs – emerger with and adult – is a productive way to go.

Nymph rigs – primarily dry-droppers with two and a half to three and a half feet of dropper tippet is working throughout the day but is best in the morning.  Double/triple nymph rigs are a good way to go in the morning, especially in deep, more insulated water (five to seven feet of leader from trailing fly to line/suspension device).  Target riffle pool, troughs, deep side channels, and eddies.

Streamers have been inconsistent but are working best from South Park to Prichard Creek.  Go with moderately sized baitfish imitations fished on floating lines or sinking tips in the INT to 3ips range. Vary up your retrieves and be prepared to allow your fly to sink before the initial line strip.  Target slow current banks and troughs, seams, and eddies.

Dry Flies – Mary Kays, Circus Peanuts, Parachute Extended Body BWOs and Mahogany Duns, Snowshoe Duns, Parachute Adams, Booty’s DL Cripple, Klinkhammers, Griffith Gnats, Parachute Midges, Morgan’s Paramidge, and Chez’s Parachute Midge Emerger.

Nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Leg, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Lightening Bugs, Perdigons, Zebra Midges, Booty’s Day-2 Midge Pupa, and Ice Cream Cone Midges.

Streamers – Galloup’s Mini Dungeon, Booty Call Minnows, Black Leeches, Mojo Minnows, Arum’s Lil’ Kim, and Kreelux.

South Fork

Flows from Palisades are at their lowest in about nine months.  A lot of pooling by podded fish on all reaches with the more favorable holding water being riffle pools, side channels, and banks with slow currents and moderate depths.  Midges dominate, but BWOs are out in the afternoon. 

Nymphing has been best with dry-dropper rigs (dropper tippet in the three to four foot range) in riffles, side channel pools, on seams, and along slow current banks with small midge and mayfly imitations.  Egg patterns are starting to produce but clearly play second fiddle at the moment.  If using them, target riffles and flats primarily.

Streamers are working best in holding water with slower currents, which the South Fork has a lot of right now.  Seam current margins, Riffle current margins, and submerged structure, are fishing particularly well.  Use floating lines or intermediate sinking tips and slow retrieves.  Moderately sized baitfish imitations are the way to go.  Fishing streamer patterns in tandem and separated by four to five feet is also fairly productive, especially in side channels and eddies.

Dry flies – Snake River Water Walkers, Barrett’s Ant, Parachute Extended Body BWOs, Parachute Adams, Booty’s BWO Emerger, Booty’s DL Cripple, Rusty Spinners, CDC Wing Midges, and Parachute Midges.

Nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Leg, Copper Johns in red or black, Military Mayflies, Lightening Bugs, Psycho Princes, Perdigons, Zebra Midges, Booty’s Day-2 Midge Pupa, and Ice Cream Cone Midges. Streamers – Baby Bunnies, J.J. Special