South Fork

South Fork 10-5-09

Blue Wing Olives are in full swing on the South Fork! With this weather expect hatches to come off in the afternoons in the slow moving water. Trout will be sipping the BWO’s so look carefully for those noses. Streamers will continue to pick up as we get more into the fall. Nymphing is also working well. Rubberlegs with your favorite beadhead dropper. I personally like the tungsten zebra midge in a size 16 or 18. I also like a size 18 pheasant tail.

Flows have dropped down to 4500 cfs. Remember that winter flows will be around 1700 cfs: expect that around the end of October to mid November. With the flows at 4500 wading is very accessible throughout the entire river. Call the shop if you have any questions or want an up to the minute report.

South Fork 9-29-09

Flows out of Palisades Dam have made recent drop today down to 6600 cfs. Expect flows to continue to drop as the demand for irrigation water declines.  With stormy weather moving in Blue Wing Olives will start to hatch int he riffles and the slow moving water.  Also make sure you have streamers in your fly box the rest of the season on the South Fork. Fish the streamers tight into the bank and strip them down stream. Cloouser minnows, Circus Peanuts, and Bottoms up Streamers will get those big browns to eat! On warm sunny days Rubberlegs and zebra midges work now as Tim relates, but do not overlook a #14 renegade. This mainstay has been superbly effective in riffles for decades.

South Fork 9/28

Fishing is starting to pick up on the river. Flows have remained steady at 7100 cfs, flows will drop as the demand for irrigation declines. There has been a good Blue Wing Olive hatch early in the morning hours. Nymphing is still you best option for catching fish consistently all day. Rubberlegs and Zebra midges have been the hot flies. There is stormy weather that is supposed to move into the area mid week. This will really make things pick up on the river once this happens. We will keep you posted on reports as the weather begins to change later in the week.

South Fork 9-24-09

Flow out of Palisades remains steady at around 7100 cfs.  Evenings are times for mahogany duns, caddis, terrestrial patterns (also mornings) and streamers (also mornings), and as Tim recommends nymphs are best during daytime hours.  However, it’s really time to think strategy changes.  BWOs will become the major mayfly, so stock up on life cycle patterns for them.  Streamers will become increasingly important as we move through October,and we stock the ones that have a proven effective.  It’s going to be a great fall fishing season here, and we will keep up on how it progresses and post right herewhat we learn.

South Fork 9-23-09

Flows on the South Fork have continued to stay steady at 7100 cfs. Nymphing is still your best option for catching fish during the day. Hoppers and Foam Ants are working well in the mornings and the evenings. There has been a good Mahogany hatch in the evenings as well. As we continue to move deeper into fall the Blue Wing Olives will start to hatch on the overcast days.

South Fork 9-21-09

The dry fly fishing has really started to slow down on the river during the heat of the day. The best time to fish dry flies is the morning hours and the evenings. Hoppers, chernobyls against the bank work the best. Streamers have also been productive during this time as well. Blue Wing Olives will hatch on overcast days. Look for fish to be feeding on them in the slower water and tailouts in the riffles. During the heat of the day I suggest a pink thingamabobber, with a rubberleg about 6 feet below the indicator. Drop a copper john, pheasant tail, or a zebra midge about 18 inches below the rubberleg.

Flows on the South Fork are currently at 7100cfs at the Dam. The Bureau of Reclamation has informed us that the base flow for the South Fork this winter will be 1700 cfs. Flows on the river will continue to drop throughout the next month and a half as the irrigation demand for water continues to expire. Access on foot will become better as the water continues to drop. As always if you have any questions or want an up to the date report call us at the shop or email us at [email protected]

South Fork 9-16-09

The flow dropped 500 cfs to 7600 last night. As soon as we find out what the winter flow is going to be and at what increments the the Bureau of Reclamation will drop the flow we’ll let you know.

The fishing has been best early in the mornings(daylight till noon) with streamers and chernobyls. In the afternoons we have done best with a smaller size Dave’s Hopper (size 8 and 10). Sometimes we trail a small ant or beetle about 2 feet behind the hopper.

More Blue Wing Olive mayflies are starting to appear as well as Mahogany Duns.

South Fork 9-10-2009

There was a drop in the flow last night from 8700 down to 8100 cfs. We will  continue to see these drops  throughout the Fall. How long it takes the fish to adjust is fun topic to discuss. Sometimes it doesn’t  bother the fish at all and after some drops it may take a day for the fish  to adjust. The hopper fishing was good yesterday between 9 am and 1 pm. It slowed down in the afternnoon and nymphs fished along the seams and drop offs produced better than the big dries.

South Fork 9-09-09

With flow out of Palisades Dam still around 8700 cfs fishing has been quite stable.  Use the same “slam the banks” strategy with terrestrial patterns until we have cloudy days later this month.  When BWOs & mahogany duns emerge in good numbers then and streamers become increasingly important, change your fishing strategy.  Notice that the river is not as crowded as a few weeks ago and that foliage is turning colorful. We are into one of the best times of the year to be on this great river.  Get in touch with us to get ideas for changing your South Fork fishing tactics.

South Fork 9-07-09

With flows out of Palisades Dam stable at around 8600 cfs for several days fishing has been holding up.  Hopper and chernobyl types slammed close to banks are a great way to go.  Evening caddis swarms make for good fishing.  PMD numbers are decreasing as is natural this time of year, so fishing riffles is slower.   But as we move through September look for BWO emergences to become more numerous especially during overcast days.   Mahogany duns will soon make an appearance.  Streamers will become more important, and as we move through October terrestrial and chernobyl patterns less important.  So it is time to get ready for upcoming changes.