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South Fork

Jimmy's All Seasons Angler / South Fork (Page 67)

South Fork 10/18

Flows have dropped to 4,000cfs. Fishing remains the same as last week. Check our earlier reports for in depth fishing. A whole lot of Blue Wings and Nymphing. Waiting for some colder weather to turn on the streamer fishing.

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South Fork 10/15

Flows have been dropped to 4400 cfs. yesterday and have remained steady as this morning while I am writing the report. As far as the fishing goes not much has changed here. Nymphing on the bright days but if you feel like dry fly fishing throw a Parachute Adams on the bank and you will get trout to eat. It really boils down to what you expect out of the day. If you are good with a few fish, fish dries, but if you want to have the best opportunity to catch a lot of fish nymph on theses bright days. Blue Wing olive and Streamer activity will be better on the overcast days, strip streamers during the mornings and evenings on the bright days. With the decrease in water levels wade fishing is becoming more accessible.

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South Fork 10/13

I have just spent the last two days on the South Fork guiding, and I can tell you that there was a huge difference in the fish activity between Monday and Tuesday. Monday was overcast and raining, fish were eating dry flies,nymphs and streamers. Tuesday was the exact opposite type of day in regards to weather, bright Sunny and not a cloud in the sky.  The fish were not as eager to eat flies on Tuesday, but they still ate and we caught fish. So here are two different type of days and two different type of fishing reports. In the fall fish are more active during the overcast days and the hatches are much more prolific as well. On the bright sunny days fish still need to eat but typically you will find them hanging in the deeper water eating nymphs. I did see fish rising to Blue Wing Olives on Tuesday and we had a few eats on a Parachute Adams against the bank on Tuesday but the nymphing gave us more opportunities to catch fish.  Choosing your day is key this time of year, however if you have a day to fish take advantage of that day regardless of the weather. Rubberlegs, and any assortment of beadhead droppers will catch fish. October caddis and Blue Wing Olives on the surface. Look for trout in the riffles and the slow foam lines. The whitefish are everywhere and are in a pre-spawn eating frenzy just expect to catch them if you are nymphing. All sections have been fishing well, but the Canyon is very pretty right now with the trees changing colors.

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South Fork 10-9-10

No significant changes here since Tim gave a report on 10-7.  He gave  several strategy tips in that report. What he offered on streamers will become more important as we move through October and into November.  If you prefer fishing BWOs his tips there will remain great information, too.

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South Fork 10/7

Flows have dropped to 6400cfs. Fishing on the South Fork has been pretty good this week. Nymphing during the high bright sun has been the best strategy for hooking fish. I’m not going to tell you that hoppers and Chernobyl Ants are not working but action on these flies has slowed down considerably. I would still be throwing a hopper dropper rig and fishing the riffles and banks really hard. Fishing early and fishing late is a good idea, this is also a great time to throw streamers. On the overcast times of the day you will see Blue Wing Olives hatching. Look for fish feeding on these flies in the foam lines, and the back eddy’s. You will also get fish rising against the bank on the foam line as well.

We have a great selection of streamers here at the shop. Color is the key when streamer fishing. It is a great idea to have lots of different sizes and colors in your streamer box. If you are fishing a black streamer and you have no chases in the first 20-30 minutes, than you need to change flies. I typically will start with a  dark fly and progressively move to a lighter fly. For example I will start black, than Brown, olive, tan, cream or gray, than finish with white. For more info on streamer fishing stop in the shop and we will be happy to get you lined up with the right flies and techniques to be successful.

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South Fork 10/4

Flows remain steady on the South Fork, and the lack of frost is keeping the terrestrials moving around on the bank. I like the hopper with a nymph dropper system for pounding the banks. Mahogany and Blue Wing Olives on the riffles and the banks as well. Nymph fishing is picking up as well and so is the streamer fishing in the mornings and late afternoons into the evening. This is a great time to fish the South Fork, lots of spots to wade the river and small crowds. Look for fish to be schooled up in buckets below riffles, and back eddys. Look for cloudy nasty weather and the fishing will be really good.

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South Fork 9-28-10

Fishing  conditions on the South Fork seems as stable as the flow  (6960 cfs for the last several days) out of Palisades Dam.  Mahogany duns and BWOs continue to make for good riffle fishing, but overcast conditions would make things better. With no killing frosts look for good fishing with terrestrial patterns to continue  indefinitely.  Also we are seeing a few late season PMDs hatching in riffles from time to time.  Look for early and late day streamer fishing to pick up as we move through October, and expect flows to drop even more as water storage for next year begins.

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South Fork 9-20-10

The flow has  dropped to 6,960 cfs at Irwin. There are good hatches of blue wing olives and mahogany duns on bright days and even better hatches on the overcast days. This weekend we had very good fishing using a small black or cinnamon ant (14 & 16) in the riffles. There is still good action on hoppers and remember that each water drop causes more of the golden stones to emerge.

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South Fork 9/14

Things have started to pick back up on the South Fork. Dry Fly fishing is not over for the season and many fish have been up eating Parachute Adams, Mahogany Duns, Blue Wing Olives, Chernobyl Ants and Hoppers. The Dry dropper technique has been working well for me in the mornings and I have been switching to smaller dries against the bank in the afternoons. I have had great success with the Frumpy Humpy fly the last few days. I have been throwing the green and peacock frumpy humpy against the bank and in the flats. I think the trout have been taking it as a Black Ant pattern. Weather has played a big role in the hatches on the river. Look for the Blue Wings to hatch in the morning on Sunny days and the Caddis to hatch towards sundown. On cloudy or rainy days expect a hatch all day and the fishing to be awesome. As far as droppers go I have been using Zebra Midges, Redemption Nymphs and various other bead head droppers.

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South Fork 9-10-10

Flow out of Palisades Dam has been very stable for a week or so at a bit over 8000 cfs.  The result has been excellent fishing up and down the river. Mahogany duns and BWOs are in full swing on riffles, chernobyl, beetle, ant, and hopper patterns work well when pitched toward vegetated banks, evening caddis hatches bring action, and streamers produce early and late in the day.   Walk-in locations abound, and boating conditions are good.  Crowds are down, and cool nights are nipping off insect pests. What more could you ask for when fishing the South Fork?  For many anglers this is the best time of year on this great river.

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