South Fork

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.

South Fork 8-2-10

Sallies and PMDs on upper river riffles seems to be the best place for action.   Stimulators are catching fish close to banks. Use same strategy with chernobyl types. some hoppers are appearing on the lower river, so some great fishing with large dries is not far away.

Please be careful when boating on the river. We lost a very experienced South Fork fly-fisher Saturday when a boat tipped at the Lorenzo Bridge.  He was a fabulous fly tier, engaging personality,  and a generous contributor to our fly fishing culture.   He will be sorely missed.

Dave Raisch reports that he lost a Scott  S-4, 486 rod with Lamson Velocity reel in the South Fork in the Irwin area. If you find these Dave can be reached at 208-406-4593.

South Fork 7/26

Fish have gotten picky in the riffles and the banks. Luckily that doesn’t mean the fishing is slow. In fact the fishing is really good. Fish Stonefly Patters really close to the bank. Close means inches from the bank not a couple feet. Chubby Chernobyls have been working really well. I like the Rootbeer and Pink color. Make sure your flies in the riffles are drag free. Emergers have been the most successful compared to adult mayflies. The Transitional Dun and the Film Critic have really worked well. Don’t get frustrated if your not slaying the fish, try to figure out why you have not been successful. The fish are eating but it requires some hard work. Take a step back and watch the fish work. For example; If you see them in the riffles moving around but not rising to dry flies put a dropper on. There have been a lot of people on the river these last weeks. Remember to use common courtesy and common sense. If you are camping remember to check up on the regulations for camping in the canyon. We have the brochure here at the shop.

South Fork 7/22

The fishing is really good right now. Fish are eating Pale Morning Duns, Pink Alberts, and Stoneflies. The Canyon is fishing really good and the Salmon Flies are very active on the upper section in Swan Valley. Fish are eating the dry flies right on the bank, literally inches from the grass and bushes. Good numbers of fish have also been caught nymphing.

South Fork 7-21-10

The flow has gone up 900 cfs to 13,400. It could bother the fish for a day or so but I don’t think it will impact the hatches. There are heavy hatches of Pale Morning Duns and Yellow Sallies on all stretches of the river from Palisades Dam downstream to Lorenzo. There are some big stones in the upper stretches. Golden stones are out in good numbers through the canyon.

The water is still  cold so the hatches don’t start until late morning. Before that  fishing nymphs or throwing streamers has been very productive.

South Fork 07-15-10

The big stoneflies are in the upper canyon near Conant. The fishing is very good and should stay that way for quite awhile. Palisades Reservoir is still at 96% capacity which will keep the water cool for most of the Summer. Cool water means steady hatches of Pale Morning Duns long after the stones are gone.

While most anglers have switched to dries some of the bigger fish have been caught on a rubber leg/golden stone combination. This goes for all stretches of the river. If you start early (6 am) before the hatches start consider a big streamer on a sink tip line. River flow is 12,500 cfs and steady.

Hey guys over the weekend some guys lost some equipment on the South Fork.  A black Ross reel attached to a Sage Sp, along with a Winston Boron and green colored Galvan reel. If anyone has any information, please call us at the shop and we will return it to its owner. If you haven’t heard or seen anything, keep your eyes peeled for the before mentioned items.

South fork 07-12-10

The hatch continues to move up the river a few miles each day. There are a good number of the big stones flying around Wolf  downstream to Heise.  The big bugs will eventually move all the way through the canyon and through Swan Valley. This is the latest we have seen the hatch start. It is  normally around Wolf on the 4th of July and has progressed up through Swan Valley by the 15th. This year we may be fishing big stones 10-12 days from now in Swan Valley.

As the previous have mentioned there are a lot of Yellow Sallies and goldens from mid canyon downstream. By late morning there are PMD’s in the riffles. The upper canyon and Swan Valley are still slow with dries but rubber legs and golden stone nymphs have been doing well.

South Fork 7/10

Fishing on the South Fork is really picking up. The fish have been eating dry flies all the way up the Canyon. Nymphing on the upper section through Swan Valley has really picked up, I expect the fish to be eating dry flies by early next week. There are great Pale Morning Dun hatches in the canyon and the lower river. The Salmon flies have been seen in good numbers on the lower river. I have been catching fish on Salmon flies the last two days through the Canyon. Golden Stones, and Yellow Sallies have been producing fish in good numbers on the surface.

South Fork 7-8-10

The fishing has really improved over the last two days. There are a lot of yellow sallies and golden stones from Cottonwood down. We had a report of the big stones flying near Twin Bridges this afternoon.

If you float through the canyon fish nymphs on the drop offs and color  changes. The dry fishing isn’t productive until you get to Cotttonwood or a little lower. The dry action should improve in this stretch as the water warms over the next few days.

The river flow is 12,500 cfs and has been steady for the past two days and there are no changes planned for several days. 12,500 is the normal summer flow at this time of year.

South Fork 7/6/2010

The river has dropped to 13,500 cfs and will be lowered another 1,000  cfs tonight to 12,500.  12,500 is the normal summer flow and the river should hold at or near this level for quite awhile. A lot of Yellow Sallies and Golden Stones are out from Wolf downriver.  A few big bugs have been seen, but no real numbers yet. Nymph fishing in the canyon with a size 4 rubberleg or Golden Stone nymph has been really good. Overall nymph fishing on the river has been very good.