South Fork

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.

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.

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.

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.

South Fork 9-2-10

Just a quick note.The flow dropped again this morning about 300 cfs to 8,000. Keep in mind these drops cause the wingless golden stones(mutants) to emerge. Hate to sound like a broken record but the water conditions are as good as they get. Look for mahogany duns and blue wings in the riffles.

We have word that flow out of Palisades Dam has been dropped to 6000 cfs to aid in the search for a missing person. A boating accident happened yesterday around 6:30 PM just above the Spring Creek launch site.  Since then a boat and person are missing on the river below.  Expect some congestion on the river below and lowered flows until this situation is resolved.

9-2-10 5 pm

As of 5 pm the flow has returned to 8000 cfs.

South Fork 8-28-10

With the weather change we are going to have this coming week look for several changes on the South Fork. The Pale Morning Dun hatch is about over for the summer but the first good cold front of the year will bring out the Blue Wing Olive and Mahogany Dun Mayflies. Also through September the flow will begin to drop as the irrigation demand decreases. The water drops will cause the mutant golden stones to emerge which will make the chernobyl/golden stone patterns more effective.

The streamer fishing has been good early in the mornings (daylight until the sun hits the water) and then change to a chernobyl. The hopper fishing has been better in the lower canyon down to Menan with  smaller size 8 and 10 hoppers.

Hey guys, a pair of wading boots were found at Kelly Island on the 28th of August. Call Dustin at  201-5313 to identify.

Flows on the South Fork are-

Heise: 8,760

Irwin:8,350

South Fork 8-25-10

With flows coming out of Palisades Dam just under 9000 cfs, the river is in ideal shape for fishing.  Fishing banks remains the most productive strategy.  Try hopper and chernobyl patterns trailed by a cinnamon ant (#14-#12), and place them close to grassy  banks, undercuts, and overhead cover.   If you want to fish riffles, late afternoon are best when caddis begin emerging.  If you do not get surface action, try soft hackled patterns in size 12-16 such as partridge and orange, partridge and green or badger and orange. Let them drift down a few inches to working fish. When your fly arrives in the area where fish are working, lift your rod tip to raise the fly toward the surface.   An evening PMD spinner fall can bring some action to riffles.

Many fly fishers have forgotten how effective a #12 or #14 renegade is on the South Fork.   Too bad: because fished as a dry fly or emerger it fly remains extremely effective up and down the river.   Try it in riffles or drop it against the same features you fish with hoppers or chernobyl types.  So for many folks it may be out of style, but for those few in the know it remains a stalwart pattern.  Maybe you should give a try especially if you believe that fish get use to seeing patterns that are presented over & over again!

South Fork 8-21-10

Riffle fishing is slowing as we move past the peak of the PMD emergence. Riffles still offer action especially towards late afternoon when caddis become active. With flows out of Palisades Dam just above 9000 cfs and heading lower, there is now an excellent choice of walk-in locations (contact us for some great walk-in candidates).    The plus side of  all this is that with fishing being great during evenings, most boat traffic is gone from the river, so you  have a better chance of solitude at walk-in riffles.  If you prefer float fishing, pitching hopper, chernobyl types and other terrestrial patterns against well vegetated banks is productive.   A great strategy is to trail a cinnamon ant pattern behind your hopper or chernobyl pattern.  If you are floating the river during the evening, your competition will be next to nil, and this will be the time to try streamers along  banks and other features out of direct sunshine.  As twilight approached big trout will come into the shallows to chase baitfish, another reason for carrying streamers if you are a late in the day fly-fisher.  This piece of info will become more useful as we move into the upcoming autumn months.

South Fork 8-16-10

With flow out of Palisades Dam at just under 9000 cfs, the river now has numerous walk-in fishing locations as well as being excellent for float fishing.  Get in touch with us to help choose best walk-in locations because for the rest of the season walk-in fishing will be a great alternative to float fishing.   What is going on “bugwise” on the South Fork?  Throughout the river emerging PMDs, sallys and caddis continue to make riffle fishing great, but with hoppers in good numbers, hitting the banks brings action similar to that during the recent big stonefly emergences.   A lot of folks are enjoying the South Fork’s great fishing these days, so be patient and considerate.   Remember: there enough trout for all to enjoy, but you want a little solitude on this wonderful river, get in touch with us—we know where & how you can find some there.

South Fork 8-7-10

With flow out of Palisades Dam just under 10000 cfs, lots of things are happening. First, much more of the river is safer for walk-in wading. There are numerous wading locations along the road above Heise  to Black Canyon and the river road above Fall Creek. These are too numerous to discuss on a one-on-one basis here, so get in touch with us or come in to look at candidates that fit your schedule and preferences.  Please remember whether you walk in or fish from a boat use caution and common sense. We lost one person on the river a week ago, and that is one too many.  With respect to activity, riffle fishing is at its peak up and down the river. PMDs, caddis and sallys are all emerging making for day-long riffle fishing with their life cycle patterns. The other good news is that the hoppers are active along the river and growing in size.  This means that successful tactics used for the recent big stonefly hatches will work again.  If you are on the river late in the day or very early, be sure to have streamer patterns in that fly box. These times of day hold some of your best chances for meeting the biggest fish of the season through presenting streamers.