Thank you for checking out this week’s fishing report. The flows on the South Fork of the Snake River are up this morning to about 13,600 cfs. Water managers are increasing the flow out of Palisades Reservoir to make room for snowmelt in the coming weeks. Palisades is 78% full. Looking at the average flows since the dam was built, we usually don’t see flows hit 14,000 cfs until the last week of May. At this level, there is a lot of water open to floaters and not much for wade fishermen.
Water clarity remains good as runoff has not started in earnest. We are seeing some off-color water from tributaries but not enough to affect the fishing. These are “down and dirty” times, so break out your meanest worm patterns, stonefly nymphs, and streamers. Brody at our Fly Shop in Swan Valley can show you what he’s been throwing. With cool and wet weather in the forecast this weekend, there might be some BWO’s hatching, so I’d make sure to have a full life cycle arsenal of those on hand. I’ve been saying this every week and will keep saying if the water keeps rising: fish the slow water. This means stopping behind islands, logs, rocks where the fish are hiding out of the current. The water is cold, and the fish (and bugs) aren’t very active, so you will find fish in slower water than normal, deeper than normal, and holding lower in runs than you might expect.
If you’re interested in guided fishing, we have guides available for day trips, and the lodge opens for the season on May 1st with 20% off lodging all month. We’d love it if you fished with us or chose to stay with us in May. Guides and lodging can be booked by calling 208.483.2222.
See you on the river!
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