Thank you for checking in on our fishing report for the upcoming 4th of July weekend. Anglers on the South Fork of the Snake are often blessed with the famous Salmon Fly hatch for the 4th, will we be this year?
I really thought this week would be the week where the river would “go off” and while we are seeing a few Salmon Flies, Sallies, and Green Drakes on the lower river the water is still just a bit cold and it’s taking longer than we thought for the fish to really start looking up. Talking with our guides and staff at the lodge the consensus is in 4-7 days the hatch will be in full swing. Hatches on the Henry’s Fork and Teton have also been delayed this year due to the cold and wet spring, added to that is the fact that the river was bumped up this week to 10,750 cfs (up from 9,200 cfs).
For this weekend focus your efforts on the warmest water you can find. This means fishing lower down on the river and/or fishing in the afternoon. This does not mean you can’t fish the upper river. “The upper” as the guides call it (Dam to Conant) has been fishing well but it’s a 100% subsurface game with nymphs and streamers. If you’ve fished the Salmon Flies before you know that the big fish key in on the nymphs long before the dry flies are out, in fact, the big fish are smart and oftentimes prefer to keep eating the nymphs even when the dry flies are out.
Brody, the manager at our Swan Valley fly shop is fully stocked with new patterns from Montana Fly Company and new apparel from Dead Drift.
We wish everyone a safe, fun, and fishy 4th of July!
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