Excellent weather, water quality, changing leaves, and technical dry fly fishing are what make the South Fork of the Snake River simply magical in the fall. Everyone flocks to the river in July for the salmon fly hatch, but take it from someone who’s been fishing the South Fork for nearly 40 years: now is the best time to fish the South Fork. With the flows this week at 5,500 cfs and dropping to 5,145 cfs at noon today, there are ample opportunities to walk and wade, whereas in July you absolutely need a boat to be effective. The leaves are changing, the crowds are gone, and the fish seem to feed a bit more aggressively, as if they know it’s time to eat before winter.
I’ll be the first to admit that the fishing isn’t easy, but I’d argue it’s much more rewarding. When the fish are crushing salmon flies with reckless abandon, nearly anyone can boat a bunch of fish. This time of year, you might have to be more stealthy—walk quietly up to a riffle or pool, observe before casting, and there might just be one fish willing to come up and sample your fly. But isn’t that something special and more rewarding? It can be frustrating floating a bank where you caught five fish during the salmon fly hatch and then not seeing a single fish on the bank today, but you’ll find them. They aren’t on that fast rocky bank right now; they’re hiding in the deeper, slower part of that run, and they’ll still eat a well-placed dry fly, BWO emerger, or nymph. They’ll probably happily chase your streamer as well. I could wax poetic all day long about a fall day on the South Fork.
We still haven’t seen our first hard frost of the year, so terrestrial flies are still an option, as are the last of our mutant golden stones—especially with the water drop coming today. Daily hatches of BWOs and Mahogany Duns are occurring, though they’ll be best when we get some clouds and a low-pressure system. You’ll see many guides throwing nymphs; a size 16 or 18 tungsten-thread midge trailed with a soft hackle BWO is an excellent choice right now. The streamer bite has been steady, especially in the evenings.
Have a great time on the water!
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