Forecast Location
Daily River Forecast
Snake River
Jackson Hole and the South Fork region
Updated for May 1, 2026
Top Summary
On the Snake in late April, fish subsurface first and treat dry-fly shots as bonus windows. Stonefly nymphs, baetis droppers, and medium streamers cover more water than waiting out a sparse hatch.
Current Conditions
- Flow: Spring flows can rise quickly with weather, especially across broader valley reaches and below tributary input.
- Water Temperature: Cold water keeps the better fish close to soft banks, depth breaks, and current shelters.
- Weather: Clouds help. Wind can shut down surface visibility even when bugs are present.
- Overall Rating: 5/10
What's Happening Right Now
Snake fish are usually spread across a lot of water this time of year, and the more aggressive trout tend to sit on structure that lets them ambush drifting nymphs or bait. You will find the better feeding lanes on soft shelf edges, below ledge drops, and along undercut banks with slower cushion water. Fish are generally willing subsurface, but the hatch needs to be real before they commit to long surface feeding.
What's Hatching
- Blue-winged olives, size 16-20, midday on gray days
- Midges, size 18-22, slow edges and side channels early
- Stonefly nymph movement, size 8-12, all day subsurface
Best Flies To Use
- Pat's Rubber Legs, size 6-10, nymph
- TJ Hooker or large perdigon, size 14-16, nymph
- BWO nymph, size 16-18, nymph
- Sparkle Minnow olive or black, size 4-6, streamer
- Parachute Adams, size 16-18, dry
- BWO Cripple, size 18-20, dry
How To Fish It
- Use a boat or cover water methodically from shore, focusing on soft shelves and structure instead of random midriver drifts.
- A stonefly lead with a smaller mayfly dropper is the cleanest all-day setup in mixed spring conditions.
- If the water is clear and stable, mix in short streamer swings along banks and logjams to move the more aggressive fish.
More On This River
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About The Snake River
The Snake covers a lot of different water, but most anglers mean the trout water around Jackson Hole or the South Fork when they talk about spring fly fishing here. Those reaches are broad, powerful, and structure-driven, with trout spread across side channels, soft banks, and deeper ledges.
Cutthroat, rainbow, and brown trout are the main targets depending on the reach. The river is well known for boat fishing, big dry-fly seasons, and trout that use current structure aggressively.
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