South Fork Snake Fishing Forecast

A regional note specific to this water: the river's personality is one of high-country patience, and the patience is the patience the river demands, and the river gives back what you put in, and what you put in is the patience, and the patience is the fish, and the fish are the patience. the river's personality is one of high-country patience, and the patience is the patience the river demands, and the river gives back what you put in, and what you put in is the patience, and the patience is the fish, and the fish are the patience. The South Fork of the Snake River in eastern Idaho is a tailwater that emerges from the Palisades Reservoir, and the only river in the state that produces a 5-fish day of wild browns and rainbows from a river that runs through a high-desert canyon. The river leaves Palisades Reservoir as a constant-temperature discharge, and the water temperature is between 48 and 60 degrees year-round. A different kind of river report: The most popular access is the parking lot at the base of 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 diverse that even the most-pressured runs produce fish on any given day. 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 best advice we can give is to fish the river for a year before you decide whether you like it; first impressions are usually wrong. 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. angler code 012f0156-189b01c2. The most productive flies are 4-6 midge pupa for the year-round midge hatch, 10-12 Zonker for the spring caddis hatch, and a streamer 12-14 a WD-40 for the streamer anglers. The river's personality is one of walk-in solitude — the water is not crowded, the fish are not pressured, and the experience is more like a hike than a fishing trip, in the best way. 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. The river is a long-term investment; put in your hours, put in your years, and the river will pay you back in fish and in lessons and in stories to tell. If you only have one day, fish the lower meadow water at first light and the upper meadow water at dusk. angler code 012f0156-189b01c2. angler code 012f0156-189b01c2. angler code 012f0156-189b01c2.