This week we headed for the Upper South fork for a float trip and some streamer fishing. The weather was warm and partly cloudy. Randy and Brian made the trip and got a much needed break from the vises and talk radio. Most winter trips we take are on the lower end of the South fork because it is lower in elevation, warmer in temperature and the flow is higher due to the added water from tributary along the way down stream. The winter fishing is truly better the farther down the river you go. But this day we took a chance on the upper because despite a lower over all fishing condition the upper does boast one thing that the lower river can’t, big fish.
We found that everything we already knew about the upper to remain true. Our fish count was down significantly from resent floats on the lower river, but our average size increased by 3 inches per fish. We did not land a real hog on this float, but all the fish we did land were over 16 inches and went up to 20 inches. All the fish we landed were caught on streamers and released for another day.
Floating the upper with the unseasonably warm temperatures made our thoughts drift to the early season fishing that this same section will produce in just two months. When the water flows return to spring and summer flows the fish will move back into their regular runs and bugs and other food sources will become active and plentiful. The Upper South Fork produced some huge fish all of last year and several in the months of April May and June. Join us this spring for the chance at some huge Rainbows, Browns, and Cutthroats.
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