South Fork of the Snake River:
Flows on the South Fork have been up at 16,000 for almost a week now, this has significantly changed the way the river looks. Water managers are aiming to empty the reservoirs to make room for the above average run-off that we are going to see. This means that flows on the South Fork will likely stay at or above the current levels through this spring. Water is up in the grass on the islands, providing new habitat for trout and a different experience for the angler. The fishing has been good, nothing extraordinary, but it has been well worth the time. The redeeming quality of the fishing right now is that the average size of fish is large. We have been catching really healthy Rainbows, Cutbows and even a few big Browns. As with any day on the South Fork you have the chance, at any moment, to catch a true trophy trout. Tungsten CDC Pheasant Tails, Terminators, Pats Rubber Legs, Zebra Midges in black and purple and a San Juan Worms have been producing fish. The streamer fishing continues to be productive, but you really have to work hard to produce just a few fish.
Snake River (Jackson):
The Snake river is running at 3000 cfs out of the Dam in Moose, at South Park the flows are 5500 cfs. As of this morning the water was off-color at the Wilson Bridge, with some cold nights in the forecast we could see a small window of clear water. It looks as if the flows are going to be bumped up to the 5000-6000 range within a week or so, which means the window on our pre-runoff fishing could be coming to a close very quickly. Zebra midges, Chironocones and Stoneflies will all get the job done, even if the water is slightly off color. Keep an eye on the flows, because once they come up, it is very likely that they will not drop until June.
