Submitted by Brandon Huerta on
Well lets face it we are into the time of the year when you might pick the right day to have been on the river and you might have picked wrong. Although with the weather we have been having this winter good fishing or not I don't think it is probably a bad decision to be on the water. With that said if you are headed to the South Fork here are a few things to consider. First, the fish are mainly eating nymphs so have a good selection. Pat' rubber leg stonefly nymphs are a must on this river. I like this pattern for two reason. One is if it is weighted enough and paired up with a smaller bead head nymph you can eliminate that extra split shot. Some spots, the deeper holes and seems you will still need it. As far as a dropper off that stone fly nymph ( by the way any big stone pattern is going to work I just happen to like the Pat's) san jaun worms, pheasant tails, haresears, cranefly larva, and caddis patterns will all be good choices of the South Fork. If you are not having the success you want swap out that dropper for a different pattern I mentioned. But make sure you give your set up a fair shake before switching. I have watched people rig up and make 15-20 casts and switch flies. This just isn't a long enough window when you are nymphing. Now if you are targeting a fish eating on the surface and he is ignoring your offering after 15-20 casts then yeah try something different if it's a fish worth catching. Now I know I will sound like a broken record if you follow my reports with this next bit of advise but what can I say if it isn't broke don't fix it. STREAMERS!! There are some big fish on this river and my biggest ones have all come on streamers. Sculpin, leech, and bunny patterns work really well here. And if you like streamers and have yet to try articulated patterns then go get a couple. They are expensive but they are also deadly. For those of you that don't know what a articulated pattern is, it is a streamer pattern tied on two hooks giving the fly really good motion in the water. Don't forget the South Fork is single barb less river so make sure you cut off the lead hook. One more bit of advise for you peeps who like throwing streamers. Tie those bad boys on nothing smaller than 2x. I watch people cast off there streamers all the time because they tie them on 4x or smaller. They are heavy and big, use heavy big line. I mainly fish my big streamers on 0x. And I know you need small tippets when you are fishing small dries to smart big fish, but when you are throwing 3 and 4 inch flies the fish are not looking at your line they are looking at your fly. Alright go have some fun out there!!!
