1st Report For 2025

Snake River

Air temps have still been above average overall, but have also had a string of colder days here and there.  This has put fish into deeper, pooled water with slow, recirculating currents.  Production has been coming primarily from double/trip nymph rigs fished relatively deep – six to nine feet – on a dead drift with midge, cdc soft hackle, BWO, and moderately sized attractor nymphs.  At times, fish will eat these patterns on the swing. 

Surface action is there in bits and pieces in these pools and on current margins. The most productive patterns have been midge emerger and adult patterns, as well as trico patterns that are in the #18 to #20 range.  Time of activity has been all over the place, starting sometimes as early as 10:30am and other times as late as 2pm.  It is not intense and only lasts about an hour, but can be worth it if you are jonesing for some dry fly fishing.

South Fork

The lower reaches from Kelly Campground have been fishing well over the past two weeks with decent surface action as midge pop from around 12:30pm until 4:30pm.  Riffle pools are good water types to target with tandem dry rigs during these hours, as are seams with slow currents and submerged structure along banks.  The upper reaches from the Dam down to Conant is producing more sporadic activity on the surface but with patience it can be good if targeting seams, eddies, and banks with slow currents.  Expect it to occur later in the day, around 2pm or so.

Nymphing is decent to good on all reaches.  Action will start slow in the morning and but pick up by around noon and continue to produce until 5pm or so.  Go with a dry-dropper setup if fishing four feet of dropper tippet or less and a traditional suspension device if fishing four feet or deeper.