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Author: Jimmy

Jimmy's All Seasons Angler / Articles posted by Jimmy (Page 7)

South Fork 07-23-09

The following is a report from Parker Stenersen(age 11) who fished four days this week with his Dad and friends.

“On the upper South Fork it was slow in the morning using a pink CFO Ant, but  we used a streamer on the banks and in deep swirly water to catch fish in the morning.

In the mid day you will want to find a rifel(riffle) with a deep truff (trough). The flies that have been working are a pmd  dun and a pink spinner.  Just hang on a  rifel and if its  not good but go find another and just wait there until 7:30 pm and the start using a CFO or streamer until dark. ” Parker Stenersen

Parker’s experience is what we are seeing from the Dam down through the canyon. The water is still very cool for  this time of year so we are not seeing mayfly hatches until 1 pm or so.

The lower river (below Heise) is picking up finally with good action with Chernobyls on top or a Bennett’s Rubber leg nymph with a San Juan worm dropper under water.

Lost on South Fork 7/21: Cabela’s 7-piece fly rod with Pfleuger Trion 1956 Reel. Reward. Call Butch Williams 307-690-2706 or email [email protected]

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Today at Jimmy’s 7-22-09

Summer season is in full swing here at the shop now that the South Fork has started fishing well. We usually get to the shop well before opening 9 am to get the shop ready for the day. Its really alot of fun working in the shop during the summer season. In additon to seeing many of the local anglers we see people from all over the U.S. and many foreign countries.

On a good water year like we have this year there are many other waters to fish than just the South Fork so it spreads fishing pressure. It also makes it difficult to choose where you want to go which is a good problem I guess.

We have brought in some new patterns this summer.  Some are completely new and some are just tweeks on older patterns. Years ago the double humpy was a standard for the Snake near Jackson.  It was tied and popularized by Boots Allen and a few years later made its way over the hill and was popular on the South Fork below Palisades. It was tied with an  orange or yellow body in sizes 4 through 8. We have expanded the colors and added olive and pink and tied it down to size 16. It will make a good terrestrial or sally pattern in the smaller sizes.  In the bigger sizes they have always produced along the banks or where two currents meet to form a seam.

One new item has arrived this week. It is the new Simms PBA-free aluminum water bottle. It holds 22 ounces and features Derek DeYoung art in either a rainbow or brown trout design.

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South Fork 7-17-09

The flow has been stable at 12,700 cfs and we should see stable flows now through the balance of the summer. The big stones have pretty much finished but you may still move some fish on the bigger size 4 imitations as the fish will still remember them for a week or so after the hatch. There will still be good hatches of yellow sallies and pale morning duns through out the coming weeks so if our report seems torepeat itself its because we are going to have steady hatches all summer due to good flows and cold water.

The log that claimed several boats at the Fall Creek Falls has been removed. Until it was cut out it was one of the trickiest obstacles we had seen in a few years.

The flow from Heise downstream has dropped to 5,400 cfs and the fishing has improved from last week. We should start to see the summer golden stones appear down there in the newly formed riffles, brush piles, and channels. Look also for good hatches of PMD’s. A big Super-X  Renegade, Sculpzilla or Clouser will work if you are looking for a bigger fish or if nothing is going on top. This section of river has a lot of obstacles and tight channels so please be careful.

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South Fork 07-15-09

The river continues to fish well from Palisades down through canyon. Folks are still catching fish above Spring Creek on the big stones but the most consistent fishing has been with golden stones and the smaller yellow sallies. The flow has dropped a little more and is down to 12,700 cfs.

One note of caution about the upper river at the Fall Creek falls. On the left bank below the falls there is a log that comes out into the river and this week two boats hit the log and sunk. You can easily avoid this tree by staying on river right.

The lower river from Heise down has been fishing much slower than above. I don’t know the explanation for this but the flow has dropped another 2000 cfs since last weekend so we look for things to improve on the lower river.

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South Fork 7-11-09

The flow is down another 1000 to 14,600cfs and the water is clearing nicely. About every type of summer bug is out including the big stones, golden stones, yellow sallies, Pale morning duns, and caddis. There are also a good number of Clackacrafts, Hydes, Alumiwelds and other assorted crafts floated down the river along with the bugs. Its a little cozy up there but the good fishing makes up for the crowds.

The big stones are in Swan Valley but I would still use them through the canyon for a week or more. We get asked where the big stones are countless times a day but I think most fish are caught on the smaller stones and sallies.

The good thing about a high and cool water year like we have is that the hatches will be consistent all summer. No slow down in late July and through August because of warm water temps.

We have been fishing Super-X’s and rubber leg nymphs in the mornings and evenings.

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South Fork 7-8-09

The flow out of the Palisades has dropped to 16,000cfs which is what we were hoping for. The inflow into Palisades is also dropping rapidly  so we should see continued drops in the flows out of the dam. The riffles will now start to form again and the fish will move in against the banks instead of finding them up in the grass of the submerged islands.

There are great hatches of yellow sallie and golden stoneflies as well as pale morning dun mayflies. The big stones are in the lower canyon. The water is still off color and won’t completely clear for some time but the dry fly fishing won’t be affected by it. If anything the fish will be less spooky.

In the mornings before the the bugs start flying use rubber legs and Super-X’s. Streamers are a good choice too. When it warms up go to the dries.

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South Fork 07-06-09

The flows have dropped to 19,600 cfs and will continue to drop each day another 800 to 1000 cfs a day.

It was a quiet week on the South Fork as anglers choose to fish other waters and wait for the river to drop some more. We did get a couple of good reports however from folks that had good success on yellow sallies and pale morning duns. They reported seeing good numbers of the small stones and mayflies and the fish had moved into the calmer water at the tips of the islands and very close to the bank to feed. Some reported even seeing fish clear up in the grass of the submerged islands.

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South Fork of Snake 07-02-09

The inflow into Palisades is beginning to drop and the outflow is now greater than than the inflow. The outflow dropped 800 cfs this morning to 22,800 cfs and we should see drops every day for several days. The Bureau of Reclamation feels the flow should be down to 15,000 cfs by next week and and then down to 12 or 13,000 cfs for the balance of the summer.

The big stones are hatching in the Twin Bridges to Byington stretch and will slowly move upstream for the next 10 days to two weeks. There are also good numbers of yellow sallies and pale morning duns. If the flows do drop as the Bureau predicts and everyone hopes  we will get some good dry action next week. In the meantime keep fishing rubber leg nymphs and streamers.

If you do venture below Byington before the water drops please be careful as there will be new obstacles and hazards to manuever around.

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South Fork 6-22-09

As of this morning the South Fork has jumped to 22,200 cfs below Palisades Dam. The reservoir is full and now outflow will have to match inflow so the flows will probably go higher as Jackson Lake is a day or so from filling. The big question is if we are finally near the runoff peak and how long the inflows into Palisades will stay this high. We will report what we hear and see.

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South Fork 06-17-09

Due to very low irrigation demand increased flows into Palisades the South Fork is up to 14,000 cfs and will be raised to 17,000 plus by tomorrow. This is a much higher flow than was predicted last week by the Bureau of Rec. The reservoir is only 3 percent from filling so flows may go higher once the lake fills in 3 or 4 days from now.

Hopefully by late June when the big stoneflies start hatching the flows will have dropped back into the 15,000 range. We will keep an eye the conditions and report whatever news we get.  In the meantime if you fish the south fork concentrate again at the bottoms of the islands and slower water next to the current like we did earlier this year when the flows were up.

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