Snake River

Good action throughout the drainage with emergences of midges, Capnias, and blue-winged olives just about everyday.  But skwalas are on the river now, and this means that surface action on larger attractor patterns is in the card.  Most dry fly production is occurring from around 11:30am until dusk.  Midge, BWO, Capnia, and skwala patterns are all working in the same holding water – primarily riffles and riffle current margins, seams, troughs, eddies, submerged structure, and bankside structure.

Double nymph rig are working best in the morning hours with dry-dropper rigs producing from 11am until dusk.  Deeper is better before 1pm, after which short dropper tippets – two to three feet – will perform better.  Target the same water as you will your dry patterns.

Streamers are working best on the lower reaches from South Park down to Sheep Gulch.  Going deep with 3ips sink tips or short (5 foot) lengths of T-8 or T-11 are producing in the morning with INT tips or full sinking INT line performing best in the afternoon.  Go with moderately sized streamers and vary up your retrieves.  Slow and long line strips work in some places.  Faster retrieves in others,  Pausing your retrieves, as well as trolling, will also work from time to time.

Nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Leg, Rubber Legged Flash Back Hares Ears, Brillion’s Rabid Squirrel, Keller’s Matte Deamon, Lightening Bugs, Perdigons, and Zebra Midges.

Dry flies – Will’s Winged Chernobyl, Mary Kays, Circus Peanuts, Parachute Adams, Parachute Extended Body BWOs, Booty’s DL Cripple, Furimsky’s BDE, Parachute Midges, CDC Parachute Midges, Klinkhammers, CDC Midge Emergers, Chez’s Krystal Wing Midge Emergers, and Bubble Head Midge Emergers.

Streamers – Black Dragons, Doc’s Articulated Goldie, Kreelux, Galloup’s Mini-Dungeons, Gongas, Booty’s Quad Bunny, and Mojo Minnows.

South Fork

Flows from Palisades Reservoir are ramping up and currently stand at approximately 4,300cfs.  Rainbows are getting into prime spawning water and are actively attacking various nymph and baitfish patterns in dumping riffles and sweeping riffles, as well as seams. Surface action has gotten a little tougher, but there can be production on wetter days with midges and BWO imitations.

Nymphs have been working best in riffles and the tail of riffle pools. Go with seven to nine feet of leader from suspension device down to your trailing nymph.  Expect just as much action on larger stonefly patterns as smaller midge and mayfly imitations.

Streamers have been hit-or-miss over the past several days but are producing best on the lower reaches from Wolf Eddy down to Lorenzo.  Brighter patterns are performing better than darker ones even on days with cloud cover.  Go with slow retrieves in slow water and fast retrieves in fast water as a default.  If not producing, concentrate on faster, shorter retrieves.  Target rocky banks, seams, riffle current margins, and eddies with slow to moderate currents.

Dry flies – Parachute Adams, Booty’s DL Cripple, Furimsky’s BDE, Mating Midges, Parachute Midges, and CDC Midge Emergers.

Nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Leg, Chocklett’s Rubber Leg Changer, Lightening Bugs, Military Mayfly, Copper Johns in olive or red, Perdigons, Zebra Midges, and Ice Cream Cone Midges. 

Streamers – Gslloup’s Peanut Envy, Galloup’s Boogeyman, Goldies, Skittish Smolts, Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow, and Booty Call Minnows.