Snake River

Autumn is kicking into gear on the Snake with decent to good emergences of PMDs, Claassenia stones, Hecuba, and mahogany duns.  All reaches are fishing well and the action can be good from as early as 8am until 6pm or after depending on the water you target.  Focus primarily on seams and eddies in the morning hours and riffles, banks, and troughs in the afternoon.  Side channels can fish well all day long.

Streamers can be hot one day and cold the next but is good when it is on. Regardless of natural light conditions, brighter patterns have been outperforming darker ones.  Go with floating lines or INT sinking tips.  Target banks, structure, troughs, riffle tails and inside turns, seams, and eddy current margins.

Dry flies – Purple Bruces, Mary Kays, Rubber Legged Double Humpies, Snake River Water Walkers, Parachute Adams, Parachute Hares Ears, Parachute Extended Body PMDs and Mahogany Duns, Purple Haze, Copper Haze, Pink Parachutes, Booty’s Drake Emerger, Booty’s DL Cripple, and Film Critics.

Nymphs – Duracells, Rabid Squirrels, Kellers Peach Fuzz, Copper Johns in red or copper, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, Lightening Bugs, Psycho Princes, and Perdigons.

Streamers – Silvey Sculpins, Dali Llamas, Sparkle Yummies, Chicklets, Marabou Muddlers, Booty Call Minnows, Ornaments, and Kreelux.

South Fork

All reaches have action and the upper portion of the river (Dam to Cottonwood) is more productive than typical for mid-September.  Mutant stones are still around but fading.  PMDs are present in at least an intermittent fashion most days.  Mahogany duns and BWOs are coming on strong with precipitation and cloud cover.  Grasshoppers, beetles, and carpenter ants are still hanging around and their imitations offer decent action during mid-day lulls when fishing for opportunistic feeders. Riffles, seams, eddies, and flats are the most productive targets at the moment.  Banks, structure, and parallel drop-offs are secondary at best except during mid-day lulls with terrestrial patterns and stonefly imitations.

Streamers are starting to produce with more consistency compared to the past month, especially on days with cloud cover.  Large and moderately sized patterns are working equally well when fished on floating lines or sinking tips in the INT to 3ips range.  Focus primarily on dark or neutral colors and target just about every piece of potential holding water you can find.  And vary up your retrieves.

Dry flies – Burky’s Bear Back Rider, Casey’s Creature, Snake River Water Walkers, Bean’s Orange Crush, Barrett’s Ant, Parachute Hoppers, Jay-Dave’s Hopper, Turck’ Power Ant, Sparkle Ants, Bi-Viz Beetles, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, BWOs, or Mahogany Duns, Parachute Adams, Pink Alberts, Copper Hazes, Comparaduns, Booty’s DL Cripple, Booty’s BWO or Mahogany Emerger, Cole’s Split-Wing Cripple, and Film Critics. 

Nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Leg, Duracells, Cyclops, Blowtorch, Psycho Princes, Copper Johns in red, olive, or copper, Double Money, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Military Mayflies, Frenchies, Devil Jigs, Zebra Midges, and Perdigons.

Streamers – Galloup’s Dungeon, Coffey’s Articulated Sparkle Minnow, Rustics, Goldilocks, Geisha Girls, Craven’s Swim Coach, Lynch Mobs, Booty Call Minnows, Arum’s Lil’ Kim, Marabou Muddlers, Galloup’s Stacked Blonde, and Kreelux.

Flat Creek

Decent action on Flat Creek at the moment with midges in the morning and infrequen PMDs and small mahogany duns in the afternoon.  Cloudy weather and precipitation can bring on stronger mahogany emergences along with a smattering of BWOs.  There are still a fair amount of grasshoppers despite cooling morning weather and craneflies and dragonflies throughout the day.  Fishing is still challenging but better production than it has typically been this time of year.  Focus primarily on undercut banks, structure, and riffle pools on brighter, sunny days.  Target riffle heads, seams, and confluences when it is nice and cloudy.

Dry flies – Will’s Crane Fly Perfection, Parachute Hoppers, Cole’s U-Con Caddis, Mathew’s X-Caddis, Parachute Extended Body Mahogany Duns, PMDs, and BWOs, Copper Haze, Booty’s DL Cripple, Pink Sulfur Emergers, Film Critics, Rusty Spinners, Mating Midges, Parachute Midges, and CDC Midge Emergers.

Nymphs – Mopscicles, Lucent Crane Larva, Simple’s Dragon Nymph, Fuzzy Wuzzy Dragonfly Nymphs, Keller’s Peach Fuzz, Mercer’s Woven Caddis Pupa, Mathew’s Sparkle Caddis Pupa, Cole’s LOF Pheasant Tail, Psycho Princes, CN Super Flash, Lightening Bugs, Zebra Midges, and Perdigons.