Just wanted to give you guys a heads up that the flows on the South Fork have been increased to 9,000 cfs. Still the same game of nymphing egg patterns, bead head nymphs and stonefly patterns. Concentrate on the slower water and the riffles. There will not be many fish on the bank until the water temp increases.
The flows were raised the last few days to 8,600 cfs. This has been effecting the fishing a little, but give it 12-18 hours since the last increase in flows and the fish seem to settle down and start eating again. Rollin guided this weekend and they caught a good number of fish on egg patterns and stonefly nymphs. The gauge at the Irwin site reports the water temp is at 40 degrees. So as things warm up the fish will become increasingly more aggressive towards streamers. I would still fish a streamer right now though I would however continue to concentrate on the slow water and deep pools in the water. Ripping a piece of meat off of the bank right now will most likely not prove to be that effective given how cold the water is.
I don’t know when the water is going to stop rising…probably in the fall, right? Seriously though the water flow is going to keep increasing for the next few months and watching the flows can really help improve your catching rate on the river.
Lorenzo boat ramp is still all screwed up and the word from the BLM is the new ramp will not be in order until this fall. Please use common sense when launching and taking out at Lorenzo. It is only big enough for one boat at a time…So use caution.
Flows on the South Fork have leveled off at 6,500 cfs for the last 2 days. We don’t know when flows will be increase but for now things have settled down enough to expect some decent fishing. With the rise in water flows the water temperature has decreased which means nymphing is going to be the best option for hooking fish. The rainbows are also spawning so egg patterns will be effective as well as the standard stonefly nymph and bead head. Don’t forget the San Juan worm that always seems to be a trout favorite in the spring. Fishing streamers will also produce fish however presentations need to be slow and concentrated in the deep pools and slowing moving water.
With the cold spring we have been experiencing the snow pack has not begun to melt at all. This is a good thing because we are now at 100% of our average snow pack for the year. I am still hoping for more rain and snow in the mountains this spring. This will slow down the need for irrigation demand and hopefully allow us to add some more snow in the mountains. This will help us in August with cold water and hopefully more PMD hatches. All in all the season is shaping up to be good with great water conditions. I have been told we will be having a flush on the river. Similar to past years I expect that to be during Memorial Day weekend, however I have not heard an official word from the Bureau of Reclamation to confirm my assumption. We will update this report with any information we hear as soon as we know.
Flows have been increased on the South Fork as of yesterday. The equipment at the Dam is malfunctioning so I don’t have a reading for the actual flows from the Dam. However I have been watching the flows at Heise. and the river flows down there have increase about 1,000 cfs. We will not know the Dam flow until the equipment is fixed, but I will get you all updated as soon as I find out. Wait a few days after the flows have been increased and the fishing will pick back up.
Most of us have been complaining about the terrible weather our region has been experiencing lately. That weather includes rain and snow, all blown around by cold, strong winds. But this cloud has a great silver lining in that snow pack in the Snake River drainage is now over 100% of normal. Here’s why we discuss this good news in the fishing report. If you are planning a visit from outside the immediate area to fish the South Fork, 100% of normal pack this late in the snow season greatly increases the chance that the river will have flows adequate through the summer to keep water cool for good fishing. Of course, this must be combined with a temperate springtime that keeps water in the reservoir system longer. It is our practice to keep on top of flows in the river and report them here when significant changes occur. But adding good snow pack news this time of year gives you even more information for making plans.
Flows have been increased to 3,700 cfs. Fishing should stabilize in a few days. Streamer fishing has been picking up and so have egg patterns. With the rainbow spawn almost ready to take off fishing glo bugs and various egg patterns this time of year is very productive. Remember to present those streamers in a slow motion for the best results.
It appears they have leveled out the flows on the South Fork for the last 24 hours. We can’t say weather or not this will stay at this level for long. The current flows are 3,000 cfs.
With the rise of the water levels the water temp in the river has most likely dropped. Nymphing is going to be your best tactic for catching fish. Lengthen those leaders to get down where the fish are, they haven’t moved the river just got deeper is all. Glo bugs, zebra midges, BWO nymphs and stonefly nymphs are sure to hook some trout. Unless the weather starts to warm up considerably the Blue Wing Olive hatches will be sparse and non existent.
Well everyone the time has come and the water flow has been increased. The increase from yesterday afternoon and this morning has brought the river up to 2,000 cfs. We don’t know how high they will increase the river at this point, but as soon as it levels off we will be updating this report. For the next few days I would look to go fishing on the Henry’s Fork.
All the boat ramps are open. Flows are still very low and short floats will still take you all day. I floated Irwin slide to Spring Creek on Monday. The fishing was good and we caught a lot of trout and whitefish on Zebra midges. We set the first Zebra midge at 4 feet from the indicator and the second Zebra midge 18 inches below that. I used a split shot about 6 inches above both flies. The best fishing was in the tailouts of riffles. Streamer action was somewhat slow but we did catch a few fish. The key to streamers is the slow strip.
The water looks great and we expect it to rise about mid April so get out right now why you can. If you have any questions call the shop or stop in.
Jimmy fished this weekend and did very well swinging small midge patterns and softhackles. Streamer fishing also produced in the deep, slow runs. Fishing should only get better with this nice weather we are having so get out there!
