The flow out of Palisades Dam is back down to just about 10,000 cfs as the B.O.R. has completed the Spring flood simulation for 2010. Now the flow will be determined by irrigation demand which means we should see flows in the 9,o00 cfs range until the weather warms up and irrigation demand increases. It looks like we still have some rainy (possibly snowy) conditions in store for the next few days and then hopefully Spring will finally arrive and then Summer a few days after. An old timer from Swan Valley once told me the he had “never missed a winter in Swan Valley, but we missed a couple summers.”
Fishing has been excellent the past several days as people continue to catch fish up and down the river on nymphs and streamers. The hot spot for quite a while was fishing for spawning rainbows at the dam, and while that program is still good, people are reporting much more success on the whole river now.
For the upcoming weekend we could see a late mother’s day caddis hatch in the Canyon, I have seen it down there two times before on Memorial weekend which can result in some truly red hot action. Otherwise focus your attention on nymphs and Streamers. Try big stoneflies and a variety of bead heads, trailing an egg pattern will pick up some fish as well. I have also heard reports that the mighty (lowly?) San Juan worm has been picking up a lot of fish. For streamers remember variety is the spice of life, start with your favorite color and if that doesn’t work go to the exact opposite color, keep changing until you find the color that works.
If you have any questions or need a guide for the coming weekend give us a call!
208-483-2222 or toll free 1- 866-393-1613
Thanks,
Chris Jensen