Snake River Angler Fly Fhsing Report for September 22nd, 2011 by Boots Allen

Snake River

Autumn is the best time of the year to fish the Snake River and this season is not disappointing area anglers. Cooler weather and intermittent thunderstorms have helped to spark important fall hatches. PMDs remain the most prominent aquatic insect on the water, but we are now seeing more caddis, hecubas, and some mahogany duns. Grasshoppers and damsel flies are also making appearances. As has been the case over the past few weeks, large attractors have been working well in the morning. Some of the most productive include Melon Bellies (size 8 to 10), Circus Peanuts (size 6 to 10), pearl belly SRA Chernobyls (size 8 to 10), and Snake River Water Walkers (size 6 to 10) in salmon, dirty gold, and purple. In the canyon reach of the river from South Park to Sheep Gulch, we have been fishing these with droppers extending 18” to 30” from the surface fly. This rigging is working well in riffles and along banks and deeply submerged structure. The best droppers have been Lightening Bugs (size 12 to 14), Batmen (size 12 to 14), and Flashback Pheasant Tails (size 10 to 14), and Zug Bugs (size 12 to 16).

In the afternoon, surface activity picks up significantly with cutthroat trout feeding in riffles, eddies, and along seam lines and banks. Tandem riggings consisting of a size 10 lead attractor followed by a smaller mayfly or caddis imitation in size 12 to 16 are producing best. Another productive tactic along flats and side channels is to fish a tandem rigging consisting of a small mayfly or caddis imitation fished as a lead fly with a smaller emerger fished as the trailer. Purple Hazes (size 10 to 14), Parachute Adams (size 10 to 16), Parachute Hares Ears (size 10 to 16), PMD Sparkle Comparaduns (size 12 to 16), Parachute CDC PMDs (size 12 to 16), Quigley Cripples (size 12 to 14), Cole's Split-Wing Cripples (size 12 to 16), Sanchez Double Vision PMDs (size 12 to 14), Booty's Mahogany Emerger (size 12), and Booty's Drake Emerger (size 10 to 12) have all been solid producers.

South Fork

Flows continue to be stable at 9,000 cfs. Fishing on the South Fork is still good but the typical mid-September inconsistency is starting to creep in on this river, something many of us thought would not occur with the late and extended runoff that we experienced earlier this year. Nonetheless, trout are being taken on every stretch of river, with the canyon reach being the most consistent. When cloudy and wet weather creeps in, the fishing improves noticeably. Lots of inermis and infrequen PMDs will be about. Intermittent hatches of caddis are also evident. Large attractors fished with deep droppers have been successful along banks, flats, and in deep eddies. Lightening Bugs (size 10 to 14) and CDC Bubbleback Pheasant Tails have been producing in this regard. The best attractors have been Kasey's Creature, Chubby Chernobyls (size 8 to 10) in gold, red, or purple, and PMXs (size 8 to 10) in red or olive.

Small mayflies are producing throughout the day along slow banks and flats. Riffle action with these flies has been spotty at best, but they do come alive on the cooler and cloudier days. Parachute Adams (size 14 to 16), Booty’s Drake Emerger (size 12), Quigley Cripples (size 12 to 14), Pink Sulfer Emergers (size 14 to 16), Pheasant Tail Emergers (size 16 to 18), and Cole's Split Winger Cripple (size 12 to 14) all fishing well, especially canyon reach and late in the day from Palisades Dam down to Irwin.

Salt River

Like other streams in the region, the Salt is fishing best on days with cloudy weather and/or a little bit of precipitation. PMDs and caddis can been found on the water throughout most parts of the day. There are still intermittent emergences of trico, especially on thoe lower reach of the river from Etna down to McCoy Creek. Large attractors like Circus Peanuts (size 10), SRA Chernobyls (size 8 to 12) in red or yellow, and Chubby Chernobyls (size 10) in purple and red are fishing well, but it is smaller, imitative patterns of dry flies that are producing best. Air-Flo Tricos (size 18 to 20), Furimsky BDEs (size 14 to 18) in olive, gray, and black, PMD Sparkle Comparaduns (size 14 to 16), Sanchez's Everything Emerger (size 14 to 16), and Harrop's CDC PMD (size 14 to 18) are producing along cutbanks and at the tails of riffles.