Snake River Angler Fly Fishing Report for November 1st, 2011

One of the best months of fly fishing in the region has just come to an end. Nonetheless, November can be stellar with the right kind weather - cool, cloudy, and some precipitation, but not enough to drive water temps down to the point that trout just are not active and not enought to force even hearty anglers from our area streams.

October is a great month to hook

into hungry cutthroat preparing for a long winter and big browns as they stage for their autumn spawning runs. This type of activity can extend well into November. Here is what to expect -

Snake River

Flows are low but still above average levels thanks to the big winter and spring we had this past season. When air temps are in the mid 40s to mid 50s, expect water temps to be from the low 40s to upper 40s. This means that good and sometimes excellent dry fly action. Discriminating anglers generally focus on the lower Snake from Wilson Bridge down to Sheep Gulch because air temps and water temps are generally lower than in the rest of the drainage, but at time the upper reaches, particulalry that from Deadman's Bar down to Wilson Bridge can fish well. It certainly did this past October. Blue-winged olives, October caddis, midges, and a smattering of mahogany duns will be the most active aquatic insects on the water.

South Fork

Flows from Palisades Reservoir are at 4000 cfs and should remain there for most of the month. Like the Snake, warm air temps will generally lead to warm water temps and good surface action will result. This is much more the case on the South Fork with its lower elevation. Cool, cloudy weather with a little precipitation can produce good hatches of blue-winged olives, infrequen PMDs, micro caddis, October caddis, mahogany duns, and midges, which can put the surface activity into a different realm. Lots of hungry cutthroat should be hitting everything as they prep for the winter, but expect lots of angry browns as they get deeper into spawn mode. Streamers can work awesome in this regard when swung across flats and at the tails on slow, shallow riffles. the Swan Valley reach is the streetch of choice for most anglers, but don't forget about the canyon reach, where a lot of brown trout stage and spawn.

Salt River

The Salt River is always a hidden gem in the region, but at no time more so than in November. Just like the Snake, there will be lots of hungry cutthroat. Like the South Fork, you can get some big brown trout staging and spawning on a number of sections of this river. Some of the buiggest cutthroat and brown trout on the Salt are caught in October and November. Expect to see lots of midges and tricos, but you may also find micro caddis, October caddis, and a few infrequen PMDS about.