South Fork 8-24-09

Flow out of Palisades Dam is up to a bit over 9000 cfs because of pre-harvest irrigation demands.  In no way has this small and temporary increase hurt fishing.  Yesterday’s rainy weather made for a great day on the river.  As if to preview things to come this September,  BWOs and a few mahogany duns were coming out in riffles already featuring PMD, slate cream dun, and caddis activity.   This along with the currently great hopper and chernobyl fishing makes for some of the best top water fishing in the region.

Mikey’s Big South Fork Cutt

Word has gotten out about the superb dry fly fishing making the canyon and Swan Valley reaches a bit crowded  with boat traffic.   To get away from much of this traffic consider floating the lower river from the Lorenzo access on U. S. Highway 20 to the Menan access. True, it makes for a relatively short float compared to the canyon, but riffles, side channels, and spring holes are in plenty and will tempt you to stop and fish.  The fare is brown trout with occasional cutts and bows, all of which are currently active on the surface.