Hi South Fork fishing fans. Thank you for checking in on this weeks fishing report. If you only fish the South Fork in the summer you wouldn’t recognize it if you saw it right now. The flow out of Palisades Reservoir has been lowered to 2,100 cfs and will be taken to winter flow of 900 cfs by November 1st, a mere trickle compared to our summer flows. This opens up great opportunities for wade fisherman. You can park and walk into virtually any number of your favorites spots, in a few places it’s even possible wade across the river, you can’t do that in the summer.
Our guides have turned much of their focus to waterfowl hunting each morning and fishing the afternoons. Both activities have been productive and we have a few spots available if you’d like to get in on some cast and blast. Typical fall fishing continues with fish being caught on nymphs, streamers and dry flies. For nymphs the focus is on small blue winged olive and midge patterns, a stonefly nymph is always a good choice as well. The water is slow enough that you don’t need much weight to get down to the fish. The go-to streamer has been the sparkle minnow but don’t be afraid to mix things up and if they aren’t chasing your streamer keep switching colors until you find one they like. In the afternoons there are still a few blue-winged olives hatching as well as midges, 2 to 5 o’clock being the most productive time for dry flies. For all three techniques, it’s important to focus your efforts on where the fish are this time of year. As the water drops the fish will move closer to their winter holding areas. Don’t spend time fishing in the long shallow stretches of river, wait until you get into deep water, foam lines, back eddies, and riffles, time spent in these areas will be most productive.
The fly shop will be open from 9-4 seven days a week through November 11th. Come in and see us or give us a call if you need anything. 208.483.2222