Snake River

Flows have been steady at 3,500 cfs for over two weeks now and clarity is very good. Fishing on the Snake is almost a carbon copy of what it was 10 days ago.  The best fishing has been in slower runs and current margins at the mid-section and tail of riffles, seams, and confluence lines with double nymph rigs.  Water temps are still chilly but have improved a couple of degrees in the past week and a half.  Some days water temps are surpassing 45 degrees.  This has allowed for more surface action with midge and BWO imitations.  Some trout are also eating larger attractors in the #10 range.  All of this dry fly activity is happening most consistently at tributary mouths with decent action in the mid-afternoon hours at the inside turns of riffles, seams, and confluence lines with slower currents.

Streamer fishing is still best with moderately sized streamers on hover lines, intermediate tips, and 3ips tips. Darker hues are out-producing brighter patterns. Target bankside troughs and structure with moderate depths and moderate speed currents, the head and mid-section of riffles, and seams.

Dry flies – Furimsky BDEs, Pheasant Tail Emergers, Booty’s BWO Emergers, Parachute Extended Body BWOs, Quigley Cripples, and Film Critics.

Nymphs – Booty’s Day-2 Midge Pupa, Zebra Midges, Ice Cream Cone Midges, Copper Johns in red, black, or olive, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Flashback Hare’s Ear Nymphs, Soft Hackle Princes, and Psycho Princes.

Streamers – Chicklets, Kreelux, Baby Bunnies, J.J. Specials, Arum’s Lil’ Kim, Beldar Buggers, and Bow River Buggers.

South Fork

We had steady flows from Palisades Reservoir at 14,000cfs for a few days this past week, but releases have been increased to 18,000 cfs to make more storage room for spring runoff. Clarity is acceptable, although certainly not anything that can be described as clear.  Water temps are still pretty chilly and surface action has been intermittent at best.  Fishing on the upper reach in Swan Valley and in the upper Canyon has been decent with large stonefly and aquatic worm imitations.  Almost all of the action has been in riffles and riffles pools and along seams.  Banks and structure have some action from time-to-time, especially in the afternoon.  We are seeing more action on Mysis and scud patterns from the Dam down to the first riffle complex below Irwin.

Streamers are not producing near as well as nymph rigs, but they are worth using as a break from bobber action. They are working best from Spring Creek Bridge down through the upper reach of the Canyon.  Going big is your best bet.  Fish them on intermediate tips , 3ips tips, and 6ips tips and target banks, structure, riffle pools, and the margin of seams and eddies.  And vary your retrieves with as many slow as your do fast.

Nymphs – – Meyer’s Mysis, Galloup’s Mysis, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Copper Johns in red or olive, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, and San Juan Worms.

Streamers – J.J. Specials, Sparkle Minnows, Silvey’s Sculpin, Sundell’s Sunfire, Sundell’s Moss Fire, Quad Bunnies, Teller’s Nightmare, Booty’s Quad Bunny, Galloup’s Boogey Man, and Galloup’s Sex Dungeon.