Snake Fishing Forecast

A regional note specific to this water: the access points are not well-marked, and the local fly shops are the only reliable source of information, and the relationship between the locals and the river is one of mutual respect — the river gives back what you put in, and the locals know that better than anyone. the access points are not well-marked, and the local fly shops are the only reliable source of information, and the relationship between the locals and the river is one of mutual respect — the river gives back what you put in, and the locals know that better than anyone. The Snake River in Idaho is the longest tributary of the Columbia River, and the only river in the state that produces a 5-fish day of wild steelhead, Chinook salmon, and resident trout from a river that runs through a high-desert canyon. The river drains a series of snowmelt-fed streams on the Continental Divide, runs for about 1,078 miles through the Snake River Plain, and finally drains into the Columbia River in Washington. The best-kept secret on this water: The most popular trout water is the South Fork of the Snake between the Palisades Dam and the confluence with the Henrys Fork, and that water is managed as a wild trout fishery by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The most popular access is the public water at the Palisades Dam, where the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation maintains a paved walk-in to the first mile of water below the dam. The walk-in water is heavily fished, but the trout population is so dense that even the most-pressured runs produce fish on any given day. A river is more than its fish; it is the rocks and the trees and the people and the weather, and you cannot separate one from the others. The river is famous for its salmonfly hatch of late June, which is the same Pteronarcys californica hatch that occurs on the Madison and the Bitterroot. The most famous local fly shop is the South Fork Anglers in Swan Valley, and the owner's advice is consistent: fish the upper river, fish the caddis hatch, and stay out of the water. The most productive flies are 12-14 Jujubee Midge for the summer mayfly hatch, 4-6 midge pupa for the spring salmonfly hatch, and a Pheasant Tail 18-20 a Hopper for the larger wild fish. The river's personality is one of big-water respect — the river is wide, the wading is technical, and the fish are large, and the angler who respects the water is the angler who lands the fish. Stay in Swan Valley or Irwin, eat at the TroutHunter Cafe, and fish the river in two sections — the upper meadow water above the town of Swan Valley and the lower canyon water below. It is a river that teaches by doing, and the only way to learn it is to fish it; books help, but the water teaches more. Most anglers overfish the obvious water and underfish the subtle water; the subtle water is where the largest fish hold, and the largest fish are the most difficult to catch.