Fishing Reports

South Fork 6-6

Flows into the Reservoir have increased tremendously which is good cause they actually might fill the reservoir now and that means cold water all summer. Cold water is good for insect hatches when August rolls around! Fishing on the river hasn’t changed much, your best technique is nymphing and Streamer fishing. This is the time of year when you can have a really good streamer day if we get some overcast rainy weather.

South Fork 6/4

This river looks so good right now it’s unbelievable! But and this is a big BUTT! The water temps are still really cold. so most of the fish are still concentrated in the buckets of the riffles and Eddy holes. Still not much action on the banks yet however it’s coming and I would expect to see the bank action pick up in about 10 days. The streamer fishing has been picking up as well. I had a few guys tell me they had good success on a rubberleg and a large red Zebra midge….hmm imagine that. Also try San Juan worms and some brighter bead head nymphs. Jimmy said there are really good Blue Wing hatches on the river but nothing was rising to them. Double check side channels if you see BWO’s and watch for sippers every day is different.

Flows are still at 10,000 cfs, I don’t expect them to change unless irrigation demand is increased.

South Fork 5/29

Things have really started to turn on in the river. Fish are moving very well to nymphs and streamers. The river looks really good and is staying steady at 11,000cfs. Look for caddis hatches towards the afternoon and its still not to late to have some Blue Wing Olives hatching. So the next big thing to happen will be the salmon fly hatch. The earliest we should see these bugs is the last week of June. However things have been starting a little earlier this year with the water flows. We will keep this report updated with all the news on the stoneflies and their emergence. But for right now fish stonefly nymphs and bead heads. Caddis pupa, pheasant tails and San Juan worms seem to be working very well. The whole river system is fishing well. We had a lot of great reports from the Canyon this weekend as well as the upper.

Remember the boat ramp at Lorenzo is not very good so be carfeul launching and taking out at this ramp. For any up to the minute reports feel free to call the shop or stop by.

South Fork 6/18

Flows were increased yesterday to 11,000 cfs. I think this was for irrigation demand. As of right now they are trying to fill the reservoir so I maintain my earlier statement that I don’t expect to see the water level raised on the river. However when irrigation demand comes the flows will go up and unfortunately we have no control or information when that might happen. We can only share with you when it does happen.

If you are looking to get away from the crowds that will be flocking to the Henry’s Fork for the Salmon Fly hatch. The South Fork can offer some really good fishing. Blue Wing Olives have been hatching in good numbers. The nymphing and streamer fishing has been good as well. This would be a great weekend to go camping in the canyon because of the lack of people fishing the South Fork right now. Not much has changed for nymphing techniques. Rubberlegs with an assortment of beadhead nymphs will be highly effective. Don’t forget about the San Juan worm, its a favorite this time of year.

We have gotten all of our new fly patterns in for the season. We have some really great new flies stop by to get some and go catch some fish. As always feel free to call the shop for up to the minute details.

South Fork 5/16

Flows have remained steady at 10,500cfs out of the dam. I got a water report today and now they are afraid they might not fill the system up, which means we can expect to see flows stay fairly steady until they have to spill water once the reservoir is full. We should see fishing starting to pick up as the water begin to warm. The only thing that will throw the fishing off now is high flows from the Dam, which isn’t going to happen anytime soon…I hope. Or runoff from the tributaries like Pallisades Creek, Falls Creek and Pine Creek. As I write this right now these tribs are not putting dirty water into the river.

Nymphing Rubberlegs, San Jaun Worms, and a variety of little nymphs will be your best technique for catching fish. Blue Wing Olives have been hatching in good numbers on the lower river. Look for fish sipping dry flies in the foam lines of eddies and back water holes.

South Fork 5/11

Flows have been coming up for the past few days. The flows today are 10,500 cfs. Fishing right now is pretty much all nymphing and Streamers. We have had reports of Blue Wing Olives on the lower river by the Heise bridge but the fish rising have been sparse and inconsistent. As far as flows go and when we expect them to go up or down is weather dependent. Runoff has not started for the tributaries on the South Fork and that really could happen anytime between now and mid June. We will keep you all updated as things change and start to move into Summer fishing….It’s going to be a GREAT year!