Snake River
Much cooler weather during these first two weeks of November with air temps in the 35 to 45 degree range almost each day. The result has been good fishing on the Snake with streamers throughout the day and dry flies – primarily midges and blue-winged olives – in the afternoon hours from about 12 pm to 5 pm.
Streamer fishing has been best on the reaches from Moose Bridge down to South Park Bridge and in the Canyon from West Table to Sheep Gulch. Target slower water like riffle pools and tailouts, seams, and banks that offer slow currents. Use floating and intermediate sinking lines or 3 ips tips and go with long, slow retrieves (although moderate spend retrieves can produce, especially in the afternoon).
Surface action is brutally slow in the morning but picks up around noon and gets better later in the afternoon. The best reaches have been in the forest service sections from South Park Bridge down to Sheep Gulch. It is almost all midges and blue-winged olives with micro caddis thrown in intermittently. Riffles are the primary target water. Riffle pools will produce throughout the afternoon. The head of riffles and the inside current margins at the head will start around 2 pm and continue until dusk. This type of holding water is offering some of the best fishing on the river if you hit it at the right time.
Nymphing will give the best opportunity to get into numbers throughout the day with double rigs in riffle pools and deep seams. Dry –dropper rigs can be used later in the day when fish are feeding actively on the surface. Go with two to three feet of dropper tippet and target the same water mentioned above.
Dry flies – Elk Hair Caddis, Peking Caddis, Sparkle Caddis, Parachute Adams, Parachute Extended Body BWOs and Purples, Booty’s BWO Emerger, Quigley Cripples, Film Critics, Furimsky BDEs, Parachute Midges, and Snowshoe Midges.
Nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Leg, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, and Psycho Princes.
Streamers – Arum’s Lil’ Kim, Chicklets, Clouser Minnows, Kiwi Muddlers, Booty Call Minnows, SRA Double Bunnies, Sundell’s Moss Fire, Booty’s Quad Bunny, and Galloup’s Mini Sex Dungeon.
South Fork
As on the Snake, there has been cooler weather over the past two week with air temps in the 40s to low 50s most days. Streamer fishing is a little better than we have had on the South Fork this autumn and the dry fly action is solid during the afternoon hours. The hot sections have been the upper reach in Swan Valley and the lower reach from Byington down to Lorenzo.
Streamer fishing has been best when targeting banks, structure, and riffle pools with appropriate depths. Go with intermediate sinking lines and 3ips to 6ips tips. Retrieves should be slow to moderate with variable pauses after several strips.
Surface action starts around 11am and builds up in tempo throughout the afternoon until about 4pm when it starts to wane. Blue-winged olives and midges are the name of the game. Riffles are the primary targets, but slow, recirculating eddies can produce during the same period of the day. Flats are also worth targeting on wetter days when hatches of BWOs are most intense. Lastly, side channels on the lower reaches below Byington are probably fishing as good as any other type of water, especially with blue-winged olive imitations.
Nymphing is solid with double and triple rigs in riffle pools, seams, and eddies. Five to six feet of leader from line-leader joint down to your trailing fly will suffice. Dry-dropper rigs with a dropper tippet length from two to three feet is a good way to go on shallow flats and at the head of riffles.
Dry flies – Parachute Adams, Parachute Extended Body BWOs and Purples, Snowshoe Duns, Booty’s BWO Emerger, Pink Sulfur Emergers, Quigley Cripples, Film Critics, Rusty Spinners, Parachute Midges, and Krystal Wing Midges.
Nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Leg, San Juan Worms, Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Psycho Mays, Bruised Mays, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, Zebra Midges, and Ice Cream Cone Midges.
Streamers – Chicklets, Ornaments, Marabou Muddlers, Booty Call Minnows, Silvey Sculpins, Sundell’s Moss Fire, Sundell’s Night Fire, Galloup’s Mini Sex Dungeon, and Galloup’s Boogeyman..