Dry Flies on the Snake and the South Fork

Snake River

The Snake is hitting prime time now with solid emergences of PMDs and Claassenia stones, as well as caddis in the morning and grasshoppers in the afternoon. Carpenter ants are also around in bits and pieces. Being on the surface with single or tandem dry rigs is all you need to do most days on just about every reach of the river. And big fish are being caught, but some days you will really have to work for them.

Riffles and the inside turn on deep riffles and seams are fishing strong at the moment with a variety of dry flies. Seams and the head of riffles are a close second in terms of action. Banks and structure are fishing well but are offering some unique challenges. Trout are holding tight to structure and can be found at the head of some pieces like root balls and large boulders. On banks, trout can be tight, but we are also finding them holding in troughs and well off of what should be considered prime holding water. Sometimes they are two or three feet from where they typically should be. So fish off of banks with a couple of casts and then fish tight with your next series of cast.

Streamers are fishing well on floating, hover, and intermediate sinking lines and intermediate to 3ips tips using moderate to speed retrieves with short pauses after every three to four strips (although it is a good idea to vary this up from time to time). Target banks, structure, bankside troughs, seams, and slow riffle pools.

Dry flies - Circus Peanuts, Snake River Water Walkers, Mary Kays, Chubby Chernobyls, Happy Meals, Parachute Hoppers, Morrish Hoppers, Club Sandwiches, Hatchback Hoppers, Stimulators, Galloup’s Ant Acid, Elk Hair Caddis, Parachute Adams, Brewer’s Butthead Sparkle Dun, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, Comparaduns, Booty’s PMD Emerger, Quigley Cripples, and Film Critics.

Nymphs - Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Copper Johns in red, Psycho Princes, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Jig Assassins, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, and Queen Princes.

Streamers – Keller’s Nightmare, Galloup’s Sex Dungeon, Galloup’s Boogeyman, Booty’s Quad Bunny, Chicklets, Booty Call Minnows, Arum’s Lil’ Kim, J.J. Specials, and Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow.

South Fork

The South Fork is still fishing well on the surface and a couple of feet with dropper rigs. A dry-dropper rig is effective enough that it is all you need to use. Banks and structure have been active throughout the day with mutant stone imitations and terrestrial patterns imitating grasshoppers and carpenter ants. Riffles, seams, and eddies become active in the afternoon hours – call it noon to 4pm – as some PMDs make an appearance. Riffles are especially good with tandem dry rigs or dry-droppers. Dropper tippet should be between two and three feet in length.

Dry flies – Circus Peanuts, Snake River Water Walkers, J-Slams, Chubby Chernobyls, Parachute Hoppers, Flesh Hoppers, Hi-Viz Cricketts, Stimulators, Sparkle Caddis, X-Caddis, Bloom’s Parachute Cadsis, Parachute Adams, Ausable Wulffs, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, Comparaduns, Booty’s PMD Emerger, Quigley Cripples, and Film Critics.

Nymphs – Lightening Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Copper Johns in red, black or olive, San Juan Worms, Bruised Mays, Psycho Mays and Jake’s Double Money.