The South Fork of the Snake River over Teton Pass is a great change of pace fishery near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Just an hour drive west of town, the South Fork is a large western trout river with healthy populations of Brown, Rainbow, and Snake River Fine Spotted  and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout.  The South Fork of the Snake is currently flowing at 11,600 cfs near Heise, Idaho and flowing at 11,300 cfs above Irwin, Idaho.

If you are a big dry fly fisherman, the terrestrial bite is on! Hopper patterns tight to the banks have been working well, along with your favorite beetle or ant pattern in sizes 12-16. PMD emergers and nymphs have been fishing very well in the riffles and flats. Film Critics (size 18-20), Last Chance Cripples (size 18-20), Harrop’s PMD CDC Biot Emerger (Yellow or Pink, size 18-20) and Captive Dun’s (size 18-20) are great flies to try during hatch times, 11am-2pm. If you are on the water early or late, I would think Caddis. An X-Caddis (Olive size 16-18) might be the only fly you’ll need at these times.

Nymphing is always effective on the South Fork. The fish are holding in a number of different depths, so you might have to play around with the depth of your fly to see what works best for a particular water type. A good rule of thumb is 8-9 feet in the morning and 4-6 feet in the afternoon.

The South Fork of the Snake goes through numerous flow drops as irrigation demand decreases. This kicks the Mutant Stone Flies (Classenia) into gear and nymphing rubber leg patterns is a great way to go for the rest of the Summer and into Fall.

Our fishing guides have been spending their days off fly fishing the South Fork of the Snake River and have been raving about how good the fishing is right now!

Fish The Fly Guide Baker Mann and Reed Minuth with a nice Cutthroat Trout on the South Fork of the Snake River!

The South Fork of the Snake has been the best river in the region as of late.  Flows are steady at 10,100 cfs and the trout here are in their feeding groove. The Bureau Reclamation has stated that once the rain mellows and our soils drain the excess moisture we’ve received, they will bump up flows to meet irrigation demands.  Most likely this will occur in a week or so… As for now, nymphing has been the main game still. Double nymph rigs with a #6-10 Rubberlegs as a point fly, and then various droppers. We are still seeing some BWO hatches with all of this rain, so #18 Flashback PT’s or Rainbow Warriors have been good producers. Midge pupa such as #18-20 Red or Black Zebra Midges are still great options. The Caddis larva are moving about in anticipation of Summer weather, so #14-16 Green Soft Hackles have been good as well. Both PMD and Yellow Sally nymphs are staging for their emergences and can be good choices for droppers, especially on sunnier days. These sunny days also have seen a little dry fly activity, mostly for mid-sized Cutthroat trout eating #12 Black flying ant patterns in the riffles. Afternoons are best, so no need to rush to the river at the moment. The streamer bite picks up as the evening draws close, so be prepared. Clouser minnows, Dungeons, JJ’s Specials, and black leeches are always good bets. Flow increases on the South Fork will slow the fishing a little bit, but not for long if the sunshine stays with us. Expect to see the beginnings of a Stonefly hatch towards the end of this month….

FTF guide Tim Smith and his dog Ashley enjoy a nice Cuttbow recently

The South Fork has been the most consistent game around over the past few weeks!  The Salmonfly hatch has come and gone with a few still lingering on the Upper section near Irwin. Golden Stones are the best big bug action at the moment and should be for awhile, especially in the Canyon.  PMD’s and Yellow Sallies have the trout looking up in the riffles and are likely to make you late for dinner! Flies: #4-6 Tim’s Stone, #6 Water Walker- Golden, #14-16 Rusty Spinners, #16-18 Hickey’s PMD Auto Emerger, #16-18 Pablo’s PMD Cripple, #16-18 CDC PMD Emerger

Gorgeous Cutthroat that ate a dry Yellow Sally imitation