The Finest Fly Fishing in North America
Pre peak season rates, 180.00 per person, per night for lodging and 395.00 guided fishing for up to two anglers. Available now to June 16th, 2013!!!!!
Father's Day weekend June 14th, 15th and 16th, Fathers bring a son or daughter for free. That's a cabin with two beds, meals and beverages for 180.00 for two people(half off peak season rates). Guided fishing is 395.00 for two in a boat.
Book now for October or November and receive a 25% discount on lodging.
Located a few miles beneath Palisades Dam on the South Fork of the Snake River, The Lodge at Palisades Creek is Orvis' only endorsed destination lodge on this prolific tail water, the finest dry fly fishing rivers in North America, perhaps anywhere on earth. Come see for yourself!
With 5,200 trout per mile and a daily average of 15-18 inch Yellowstone Cutthroat, Rainbow and Brown Trout, The South Fork of the Snake truly is a necessary addition to any angler's memory log. Eager trout munch their way through hordes of hatches throughout the year in the braids, riffles, runs, banks and drop-offs of this fabled freestone river. 85% of our clients each year are repeating trips of years past, a testament not only to Orvis' endorsement but to the world class trout fishing.
Patricia and Marshall Geller - Owners
Hello friends, we are excited to announce the purchase of Blackdog Outfitters. This will enable us to take our guests fishing on the main Snake River below Menan buttes all the way to Massacre of Rocks State Park near Burley, Idaho. If you want to catch a trophy of a lifetime time you will love the secret water we have fished privately during the off season. Tilden Bridge, Project X near Shelly and Firth and the incredible resource below American Falls Reservoir for Sturgeon, Small Mouth Bass, and massive trout are waiting for you. Even more exciting is the waterfowl hunting permit that comes with this purchase. We will now be offering our guests an amazing waterfowl hunting experience on the upper South Fork right outside our door step. For years we have enjoyed this resource after our fishing season. The photo here shows us after a great field hunt in Swan Valley. Our new permits will allow us to hunt the river corridor which is a major stopping area for waterfowl migrating south for the winter. After your hunt, enjoy world class dining and lodging back at the Lodge. To make a reservation just call Rayna in our office. 1-866-393-1613.
Fishing is excellent at this moment. Very little traffic on the river. river coming up for irrigation. It is still very clear water. Midge nymphs and mysis shrimp is the major food source. And eggs.
Hello from East Idaho. Just a quick report from the South Fork of the Snake River. Fishing has been outstanding. Large brown midges have been seeing a surprising amount of surface feeding. Who would have thought dry fly fishing in March and April? The egg bite is starting for spawning rainbows. The fish will get a cold blast of water as the snow has begun to melt. We are seeing air temperatures in the 60's during the day and temps below freezing at night. The true runoff won't start until the temps stay above freezing at night. Generally mid May, but we will see what Mother nature has in mind for us this year. The area reservoirs are all nearly full leaving a little room to catch this winters snow melt. GREAT news for us fishermen and women. The ramps are all now totally open. We are guiding trips starting right now. Mysis shrimp, and pheasant tail nymphs are also working well. Get out and enjoy some of this warm weather and great fishing. Give us a call if you need a guide or are interesteds in visiting us this summer. 1-866-393-1613
Hello all, we hope your winter is mild and moist! Ours has been. Great news for fishing this upcoming year. Flows have been very consistent for a couple months at 900 c.f.s. You can walk across the river in most places. Access is open at the Dam, Irwin slide, and Spring Creek bridge. Then again at Byington and below.
The Angler Incentive Program is being offered again this yeart and 300 more rainbow and hybrid fish have been tagged with microscopic reward tags worth %50-%1,000 dollars.
We are in negotiations to purchase another license which, if approved, will allow us to guide on the snake river below Menan buttes all the way Massacre of Rocks near Burley, Idaho. About 90 miles of new water. We will also be offering a very special opportunity to waterfowl hunt on the South Fork of the Snake near the Lodge. We will have the opportunity to offer "Cast and Blast" from mid October through mid January. Stand by, the Lodge is looking at a much longer season, great news for everyone!
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Feb 20, 2013
Well, here we sit with a totally different year than the last three. The water is gin clear and runoff is on the down swing. It wasn’t much to begin with. We have had warmer than average temperatures with cool nights causing the little bit of snow to melt slow and easy. The rainbow fishing has been EPIC all spring. Check our FaceBook page for pictures.
The guides have had only a few trips as this time of year has been a tough sale in the past few. The boys fished section four yesterday and got over 40 fish on dry dropper rigs. The water temperature is rising quickly and we anticipate an early salmon fly hatch. You read this correctly. It should be EARLY this year.
Dry fly fishing as the summer progresses should be the best we have seen in years. If you can, crawl, walk, drive, fly do what ever it takes to get out here. We have super discounted rates on lodging and guided fishing through Father’s Day Weekend. The cutthroat are reported to have started their migration into the tributaries for the spawn. A week early. This is the one we have been waiting for!!!!!!!
Fly Fishing on the South Fork of the Snake river is and will be incredible this summer. Get ready and call us right away. 1-866-393-1613
March 18, 2012
A fish count on the South Fork of the Snake River last fall showed more than 5,177 fish per mile, the second-highest number recorded since the mid-1980s.
An increase in brown trout helped boost the overall numbers.
Figures are closely watched by biologists trying to maintain a viable Yellowstone cutthroat trout population in one of the nation’s blue-ribbon fisheries.
In 1986, biologists counted a record 5,692 fish per mile in the South Fork, a stretch of the Snake in Idaho.
“Our estimates are pointing to good fishing to be had this year,” said Brett High, regional fisheries biologist for Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Biologists have worked aggressively to attack the river’s exotic rainbow trout population, which breeds and competes with cutthroats.
Rainbow trout have increased from roughly 100 per mile in 1989 to 2,270 per mile in 2009, according to a 2011 report. Cutthroat trout peaked at 4,659 per mile in 1986 but fell to 771 per mile in 2004.
Since then, cutthroat have recovered and the rainbow trout growth rate has been slowed, High said. (See graph.)
“We recognize that there’s challenges that cutthroat trout continue to face in the South Fork,” High said.
On the upper Snake River in Jackson Hole, anglers occasionally see non-native trout — but they are rare. Fish counts are focused on cutthroat.
In the fall, biologists sampled a 5.5-mile section of the river between Moose and Wilson. They estimated 758 cutthroat per mile, up from 654 in 2008.
To keep rainbow trout in check on the South Fork, Idaho Game and Fish employs a three-pronged approach.
They use fish weirs to trap trout swimming into spawning streams and only let cutthroat reach spawning waters. Biologists ask Bureau of Reclamation officials to time releases from Palisades Dam to benefit spawning cutthroat, and they’ve encouraged anglers to kill and keep rainbow and hybridized cuttbows.
Rainbow trout are not native to the South Fork.
Each year, department workers catch several hundred rainbows and hybrids and insert tags in their heads. Anglers who return heads containing the tags can garner rewards ranging from $50 to $1,000.
Idaho officials are trying to protect cutthroat because they are an ecologically important native species and citizens value having the fish in the river, High said. Cutthroat are known for rising to dry flies.
Plus, states want to keep cutthroat, which were once prevalent throughout the West but now inhabit less than 15 percent of their former habitats, from coming under federal protection.
The fight against the rainbows is key to protecting cutthroats.
“The single-greatest factor in the decline of the cutthroat has been the introduction (both official and illegal) of non-native species such as the rainbow, brown, brook and lake trout,” A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service paper on cutthroats states. “These exotic trout compete with cutthroats for food and habitat, and in the case of the rainbow trout, cross-breed with them to create genetically impure, but fertile hybrids.”
If the federal government were to step in to protect cutthroat in Idaho and Wyoming, management could be taken away from the states, High said. The move could affect irrigators, anglers and outfitters.
In the fall, biologists counted South Fork fish by running electric current through the roughly two miles of river downstream from the Conant boat ramp in Swan Valley, Idaho.
The increasing fish counts can be ascribed to good water years as well as Idaho’s fish management practices, High said. Last year’s high water kept some anglers off the water and made fishing difficult when flows finally subsided.
On July 4, 2011, the river was flowing at more than 40,000 cubic feet per second, more than double the day’s average of 18,000 cubic feet per second, according to a BuRec website. In high water, fish move out of their normal holding areas, and murky water pouring out of tributaries makes angling difficult, High said.
“The fish definitely weren’t washed downstream,” High said.
During the fall fish count, the longest fish measured came in at 21 inches, High said. That doesn’t mean there aren’t bigger fish in the river.
Electrofishing affects only the top six to eight feet and not deep holes. Biologists, like many anglers, didn’t get to measure any of South Fork’s legendary trout.
“We don’t typically see them,” High said.
Taken from Jackson Hole News and Guide, author, Thomas Dewell.
January 12, 2012
We at the Lodge at Palisades Creek know exactly how you feel!First and foremost, we are fisherman at heart and relish the need to be perfectly equipped for your next season o the South Fork which proves to be one of the finest in recent memory. Face it, every one of us has a void in our fishing arsenol desperately itching to be filled. By the way, I need a new pair of waders. But I digress. The Lodge now offers two exciting options for one-click shopping for the finest fishing and sporting gear known to mankind. The First is the "Orvis Store", the Lodge's endorsed Orvis outfitter. Everything Orvis can be accessed through our website at streamline precision on our updated homepage. The second is a wildly popular new gear supplier named Pro Guide Direct. This Lodge-affiliated gear junkie site offers gear outfitting tailor-made for your precious quarry whether it be trout or tarpon. Rods, reels, clothing, equipment, leaders and tippets can be gathered seperately or as a guide-recommended bundle at a click of a mouse. Visit Pro Guide Direct and support the Lodge at Palisades Creek at www.proguidedirect.com Again, we at the Lodge at Palisades Creek want to see you perfectly geared for your 2012 visit. The trout may not be as excited! Stay Tuned.
December 6, 2011
Wintertime in the Tetons. Typically most of even the ardent anglers clean and store their fishing gear with only fond memories of next season. We at the Lodge at Palisades Creek see things a little differently! Wintertime is South Fork time and with the season open yearound this year, resident browns, rainbows and cutts are only a few casts away. Nymphing is the norm and don't leave home without egg patterns, stoneflies and midges. Deep, slower runs have taken over as prime real estate and eager fish are opportunistically awaiting their next meal. The Lodge realizes this mid-season urge to flyfish and welcome reservations for wade fishing trips on this pristine river which fishes unrivaled even in the winter. One call to the Lodge or click on our site can schedule your winter wade trip at deeply discounted prices. We also know that fishing on the South Fork in the winter is weather dependant and reservation refunds are happily given. If you have not yet experienced winter flyfishing on the South Fork, add a day to your ski trip! You will not be dissapointed!! Stay Tuned
May 11, 2011
Did you get your share of Rainbow Trout last season on the South Fork? Speaking for guides and anglers alike at The Lodge at Palisades Creek, I can say emphatically, YES! But to Fish and Game, it is a different story. Together with Trout Unlimited, Friends of the Teton River and various other organizations, they again are trying to encourage harvesting of these "invasive" trout and have compiled a report on Rainbow populations as they continue to monitor their encroachment on native Cutthroat populations on the South Fork. Their findings were very positive. At Conant access, statistics show that Rainbow trout per mile declined for the first year to 1,893 per mile while Cutthroat were 1,953 per mile, inversely mirroring 2010. It is working, however Fish and Game still is trying to stem the tide of the rainbow trout. Wiers are currently in place at critical cutthroat spawning creeks such as Palisades Creek and Pine Creek in order to snatch them from the ecosystem on the South Fork. Additonally, the Angler Incentive Program is, again, in full swing. 575 Rainbows were caught, tagged and released back into the South Fork for anglers to catch AND KILL, with 5 fish worth $1,000 dollars each for the successful angler;; 50 fish worth $500; 100 fish worth $250 and the remainder of the fish trapped and tagged worth between $50-100 each. There will be no shortage of these leaping bulldogs on the South Fork this season, but progress is being made to curtail their impact on the native Cutthroat trout. Sounds like the best of both worlds to me.
The dining experience here in Irwin, ID can only be described as 'A unique fine dining experience set along side the blue ribbon fishing waters of the South Fork of the Snake that is second to none'. Our executive Chef, Bob Swanson prepares fresh, regional cuisine to prefection each and every evening. Non Guests please call for reservations: 1 866.393.1613 orClick for More Info
The Lodge at Palisades Creek offers two accomodation options: The Riverside House & our Private Cabins. The Riverside House is a large spacious get away that can provide a luxury, rustic stay for parties up to Eight. The Private Cabins are a well appointed seculuded cabin just for you and a guest.
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Fly fishing the South Fork of the Snake River will rank among the best trout destinations on earth! Our guests travel to the Lodge at Palisades Creek with this promise in mind. Eager Yellowstone Cutthroat, Rainbow and Brown Trout, and unmatched scenery will surely make this a haven for your western trout flyfishing addictions.Book Fishing Now
