The fishing on the Snake has been very productive this past week with both beginners and experienced anglers having great success. While many of the fish are smaller in size, they more than make up for it with their numbers. With that being said, we are beginning to see more and more big fish landed every day. At this point in the summer the fish are not very picky or shy, this means you can get away with bigger leader and tippet. With that extra strength in the line you can land more fish and lose fewer flies, don’t be afraid to tie on some 3x. The fish have been getting fooled by Chernobyl style foam patterns and water walkers on the surface. Dropping a nymph 12-24 inches below the big foam has also done the job when the fish are not looking up. As far as small dries go, the Parachute Adams, Hairwing PMD’s and other small PMD imitations have also been successful.
The Grey Drake hatch is in full swing on the Green River and big fish are keying in on any kind of Grey Drake imitation. While the hatch is very intense it can be short-lived and easily affected by the weather. When the fishing heats up, it is great for about 2 hours, then it starts to slow down and shut off as the heat of the day hits. The flows are plummeting which could mean that we are seeing the last few days of the hatch and with cold weather in the forecast one might look to other options in the coming days/weeks.
The salmoflies are out on the Upper South Fork and the fishing has been hot. As is tradition on the South Fork, when the fishing is good the river is very busy. Expect to see lots of bugs and boats out on the water.
Tim P.
