Snake River

Things are still rockin’ on the Snake and is still the place to be at the moment. As has been the case over the past two weeks, expect slow periods from day to day or hour to hour. But for the most part, the Snake is on!

Emergences of caddis and PMDs have diminished a bit over the past week, although they can come out in force on those days when there is decent cloud cover and some precipitation. What has come on the scene strong this week is more grasshoppers and more Claassenia stoneflies. This is a big reason that surface attractors and hopper patterns have been working so well on just about every reach from Pacific Creek down to Sheep Gulch. These patterns can be fished throughout the day on banks, structure, bankside troughs, seams, and the entirety of riffles. Caddis and PMDs are more present in the afternoon, and this is when emerger and dun imitations can start to hammer it home. Tandem rigs are working best.

Streamers are also producing throughout the day. Banks and structure are key targets in the morning. Riffle pools (especially the tails), seams, and confluence points have been fising better later in the day. No need to go too deep. Floating and hover lines, as well as intermediate tips, are all that you will need.

Effective dry flies – Will’s Winged Chernobyl, Winged Peanuts, Bart’s Lipstick, Chubby Chernobyls, Turck’s Tarantula, Fat Alberts, Stimulators, Tent-Wing Caddis, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, Thorax PMDs, Parachute Adams, Quigley Cripples, Booty’s PMD Emerger, Film Critics, and Pheasant Tail Emergers.

Effective streamers – Kreelux, Chickletts, Sculpzillas, Arum’s Lil’ Kim, Bullethead Zonkers, Silvey Sculpins, and Kiwi Muddler’s.

South Fork

Flows from Palisades Reservoir have stood at 9,500cfs for a while but have just dropped today to 9,000cfs. Same story on the South Fork as it has been the past two weeks – you have to work for your fish, but there is good action on all reaches with surface attractors and nymphs in the morning in most water types and even better fishing on riffles and flats with PMD emerger and dun imitations. The one thing that has changed is that, with the cooler and wetter weather over this past week, PMD emergences have been more intense in the late morning and early afternoon, and there has been even more water where they are producing. Not just riffles and flats, but seams, eddies, and banks with moderate to slow currents. This intensity may not last with warmer and drier weather on the way, but expect good fishing on the South Fork for at least the next couple of weeks or longer. Just have fun and be prepared to work for your fish.

Effective dry flies – Circus Peanuts, J-Slams, Will’s Winged Chernobyl, Chubby Chernobyls, Barrett’s Ant, Parachute Hoppers, Grand Hoppers, Stimulators, Galloup’s Ant Acid, Tent-Wing Caddis, Sparkle Ants, Parachute Adams, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, Comparaduns, Booty’s PMD Emerger, Quigley Cripples, Film Critics, Pheasant Tail Emergers, and Pink Sulfur Emergers.

Effective Nymphs – Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, Hickey’s Auto Nymph, Psycho Mays, and Bruised Mays.

Flat Creek

Flat Creek opened last week and, typical to form, the early season fishing has been quite good with a variety of terrestrial patterns, small attractors (#12 to #14), mayfly imitations, and caddis imitations. Caddis is what you will see in the morning primarily. PMDs have been coming out towards noon, along with a smattering of grasshoppers and beetles. Things are already starting to become more challenging (and fun). Fish are quite a bit more selective then last week end and, when hatches are not present, hook ups can slow to a crawl and even become non-existent.

Right now, there is action throughout the day with the best times being from dawn until approximately 9am and then again in the evening from approximately 6pm until dusk. These times have been most productive with caddis and mayfly imitations. But don’t ignore the mid-day period just yet. There is still a little bit of production on the larger bugs. They can be fished in combination with nymphs imitating midge, mayfly, and caddis larva.

Effective dry flies – Parachute Hoppers, Jay-Dave’s Hopper, Circus Peanuts, SRA Chernobyls, Will’s Winged Chernobyls, Krystal Ants, Power Ants, Mega Beetles, Hair Beetles, Elk Hair Caddis, CDC Caddis, Sanchez’s Foam-Wing Caddis, Cole’s U-Con, Mathew’s Sparkle Caddis, Tent-Wing Caddis, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, Mahogany Duns, and Cahills, Comparaduns, Q’s Loop Wing Cripple, Booty’s PMD and BWO Emerger, Film Critics, Pheasant Tail Emergers, Rusty Spinners, Furimsky BDEs, Lite Brite Serendipities, and Air-Flo Tricos.

Effective nymphs – Rainbow Warriors, Lightening Bugs, Batmen, Psycho Princes, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Mercer’s Bead Tail Caddis Pupa, Copper Johns, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, Dorsey’s Mercury Baetis, Zebra Midges, and Ice Cream Cone Midges.