South Fork

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!

South Fork 5/4

Flows have been bouncing around for the last few weeks. Right now they are at 9,000cfs. As it stands we will not get a huge flush of water this spring over 20,000cfs. So this means that any damage that we can do to the rainbow population will have to be through anglers harvesting them. Right now the fishing at the Dam has been really good. Some streamer action but the majority of fish being caught have been on mysis shrimp, scuds and egg patterns. Rubberlegs and dead drifted J.J. Specials will also catch fish. For the rest of the river, Rubberlegs, and Bead Head nymphs have been effective.

South Fork 5/1

Flows on the South Fork have been dropped to 9,000 cfs. There have been a lot of fisherman having good success at Palisades Dam. Mysis shrimp patterns and glo bugs have been the ticket. You gotta get them down deep and on the bottom. As far as the rest of the river is concerned glo bugs, rubberlegs and bead head nymphs have been moving a lot of fish. The streamer action is picking up but remember the water is still cold so be sure to slow down that presentation to entice a strike.

There is a blocked channel on the Lorenzo to Menan float. Its about half way into the float. The majority of the river banks to the right and the left channel is completely blocked by a log jam.  I have not seen it but this was reported to us by some customers. Please check out every side channel before you float it this time of year. You don’t want to get stuck walking your boat out of a long side channel.