The Main Snake River
We refer to the section of the Snake River below the confluence of the Henry’s Fork as the Main Snake. South Fork Outfitters acquired a permit to guide on this stretch of water in the summer of 2000. Our permit covers the Snake River from the confluence of the Henry’s Fork to Milner Dam, and also encompasses American Falls Reservoir. With well over 100 miles of new water to learn, it is needless to say that we had our work cut out for us. We have done our homework and have discovered some of the best trophy trout water in the country. While the numbers of fish caught do not rival what you would see in an average day on the South Fork, the average size is exceptional. Trout in the 5 – 8 pound range are not uncommon!
The river between the confluence with the Henry’s Fork and American Falls Reservoir is very similar to the Lower South Fork. The river winds through a cottonwood river bottom most of the way with beautiful gravel bars and side channels mixed with slow backwaters and diversion dams. The fishing season is open year round on this section, and we run trips here most of the year. Most of our guided trips on the river above American Falls Reservoir are done using jet boats. The jets make covering large amounts of water a snap. With the lower fish counts seen on this section, the ability to move from spot to spot quickly is invaluable. We can focus on the areas that are producing fish and pass quickly over water that is not as productive. Trout are not the only fish of interest. The Main Snake is loaded with carp. Pods of carp can be seen tailing in sloughs along the main channel and in the shallow gravel drops along the edges. A Carp is a wonderful fish to catch on a fly. They are extremely spooky and selective and behave very similarly to saltwater flats fish.
Below American Falls the river drops into a basalt canyon nearly 10 miles long. The cool water coming from the bottom of the American Falls Reservoir creates an extremely fertile tailwater fishery that maintains a very good population of trout that seem to average in the neighborhood of 18". Rainbows are the most prevalent trout though a brown or two is not uncommon. The river also has good numbers of carp, small mouth bass, and even Sturgeon!! Dredging with deep nymphs and streamers seems to be the most effective way to catch these fish. There are very good hatches of caddis and Pale Morning Duns, but the fish seem to favor feeding on the subsurface stages of these hatches, and the dry fly fishing seems to be a bit limited. This section of the river has some very treacherous lava drops and floating below the Pipeline Sportsman's Access is not recommended. The season between American Falls and Eagle Rock is open from Memorial Day Weekend to the end of October. It fishes extremely well from the opener on. The late summer fishing is dependent on the level of American Falls Reservoir and irrigation demand. On light precipitation years when the reservoir is drawn down below 15% of capacity for late summer irrigation, the river generally turns muddy. Below Massacre Rocks the fishing season on the Main Snake is open year round. The river between Massacre Rocks and Milner Dam is mainly a Small Mouth Bass and Carp fishery with good numbers of both.
For those of you with more of an adventurous spirit, a trip on the Main Snake is a must. Where else can you go with the possibility to catch trophy carp, trophy trout, and small mouth bass on the same trip? The Main Snake is truly a year round fishery. We start fishing the open water above American Falls reservoir in late-February and run trips until the weather shuts us down, usually around December 1st. If you are interested in pursuing the fish of a lifetime, this trip is for you! Give us a call for more information and rates.
