Time: 11:30AM – 4:30PM

Location: Upstream from the South Fork Campground

South Fork of the White River 09/11/2024 Photo Album

Wednesday was an interesting day. I was concerned about PM thunderstorms, so I wore my fleece and billed hat with flaps. The temperature in the parking lot was 54 degrees, and it never peaked above the upper 60’s. Part way into my hike, I began to perspire, so I removed the fleece and tied it around my waist. This was obviously not a solution for when I began fishing. I arrived at my chosen destination at 11:15AM, and I immediately made an adjustment, as I tied my fleece around my waist inside my wader bib. It was tight, but it worked.

I Skipped Many Wide Shallow Sections Such as This

Pockets Along the Left Bank Were My Targets

I was armed with my Sage One five weight, and I started my quest for South Fork trout with a tan Amy’s ant, a 20 incher, and a Pat’s rubber leg. The flows seemed a bit higher than normal for this time of year, so I used two weighted flies to get down. After a reasonable trial period, I declared my deep drift strategy a bust, and I replaced the Pat’s rubber legs with a salvation nymph.

Early Success

A Nice Handful

Sweet Spot. Depth and Slower Current

I paused at noon for lunch, and when I resumed, my frustration reached new levels. In the period after lunch I landed one rainbow, and I endured five long distance releases. One can imagine the level of frustration present on the South Fork. I was trapped at one fish and convinced that is where I would remain. I decided to mix things up, so I replaced the 20 incher with an ultra zug bug. A sloppy release of a fish snapped off the salvation, so I replaced it with another. I was hoping for a sharper hook. These moves resulted in a couple decent rainbows to boost the fish count to three, and I remained at this level for a long interval.

Action Improving

Deeper Colors

I was covering a huge amount of water, skipping wide shallow riffles and marginal spots and casting my arm off. The Amy’s ant was not a factor, so I replaced it with my old reliable olive ice dub hippie stomper. Between 2PM and 2:30PM I managed to climb the count to seven, but the action remained lackluster, although quite a few feisty twelve and thirteen inch rainbows were among the landed fish.

Productive Spot

By 2:30 some large dark clouds rolled in, and I managed to pull on my fleece and raincoat and dropped my earflaps, before the precipitation descended. I waited out the ten minute downpour, before I resumed casting. Needless to say, I was pleased with my foresight which provided the extra warmth to withstand the temperature drop and rain. I continued to stress, however, about how to carry the fleece on my return hike.

A Fine Trout

Once the storm passed, the fishing conditions shifted dramatically. I surmised that the long distance releases and lack of consistent action stemmed from the salvation not being a close enough imitation of the pale morning dun nymph. I swapped it for a hare nation, which is essentially a salvation with hares ear legs rather than rubber legs. The results were immediate. Between 3:00PM and 4:30PM, I doubled the fish count from seven to fourteen, and number twelve was the fish of the trip. The wide slab of a rainbow nipped the hair nation and fought me up and down the run, before I was able to slip it into my net. It was the fish of the trip so far, as it extended the length of my net opening. The girth was the more impressive characteristic. In addition to slab sides, numbers nine and eleven were also in the same length range, however, they failed to carry the extreme poundage of number twelve. They were not lean trout, just not as thick as the prize of the day.

Another Trout Condo

At 4:30PM I approached a long wide and shallow riffle section, so I stripped in my line and hooked the end fly to the rod guide. I solved my concern over carrying layers back to the parking lot by stuffing my raincoat in the backpack, and I tied the arms of the fleece around my neck.

Best of the Day

Most of the day was slow and frustrating, but the last 1.5 hours turned my fortunes around. The South Fork is a tough river, and I question whether a return is in my future. Yet, the image of those three fifteen inch rainbows may draw me back in a future year.

Fish Landed: 14