Snake River

Earlier this year, the Bureau of Reclamation had said they were going to try and hold the Snake River discharge at the Jackson Lake Dam at around 2,500cfs. And guess what, they have. Thank you very much Bureau of Reclamation. Though 2,500cfs is not exactly a low release, it is a far cry from the 4,000 too 5,000cfs releases we have been experiencing the last several years. The Snake has benefited greatly from the Bureau’s efforts. The last couple of weeks the Snake had been fishing well, but for smaller fish. This weekend it stepped up to the plate and started delivering the big boys. We have been consistently seeing 16 to 20 inch fish since last Friday, July16th.

Standard attractor dries are still working, like Royal Wulffs, Snake Drakes, and Adams Wulffs, but it’s the big attractors that are moving the Yellow Bellies. It is a phenomena that I’ve seen happen every year...sooner or later the big fish key in on these larger patterns. When this occurs, now mind you, the fly patterns will change, but generally the Snake will fish pretty well for the remainder of the season, which by the way that is October 31^st. Trina’s Noble Chernobyl, Turck’s Tarantula in red, and Fat Alberts have all been producing well. Twitching these or slightly dragging them on the surface has been effective or try trailing a North Fork Special, Copper John, or a Morrish’s Dirty Bird underneath a big proven attractor.

As for streamers, fishing a JJ Special’s, Halloween Rubber Bugger, or Cone-Head Madonna will produce fish. Fish them with a slow retrieve – bouncing it along the bottom with a slight twitch has been very effective.

With the amount of moisture we have received this year it looks like the tributaries should last into the fall. They have been fishing well with Royal Stimulators, Bugmeisters, and small Hoppers are starting to deliver.

A tip for the wade fisherman trying to fish the Snake (this also applies for the tributaries): 7:00 pm until dark the Snake has been quite good. Look for softer water on the inside of fast seams. In the evenings, fish have been moving into this shallower water and are taking advantage of the late hatch. It has been mainly Caddis, so you might try some E-Z Caddis, Parachute Caddis, and even some small Stimulators.

Sunday night, July 18^th, the Jackson received a good soaking with heavy thunderstorms. This put the Snake and area streams off-color, but they have rebounded nicely and the fishing has bounced right back to what we were previously experiencing. So far this summer we have had great weather and great water flows, the best we have seen in five years. With a little help from Mother Nature and the Bureau of Rec. the fishing will only get better. If you come give the valley a go, make sure you stop by the shop and say Howdy!!

Until Then Good Fishing,

Howard Cole
High Country Flies