[Will Carnaghi]

OK, here go's...

So I'm going to spend the day tomorrow at my buddy's place on the stilly. I don't know which fork or if its the main stem. I know you're not supposed to ask fishing advice on WFF :rofl: and I'm not asking for anyone's secret rock to stand on.....but....what flies, 5 or 8 weight, and are there actually any fish left? I'm basically clueless about this river and any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys and gals

-Will

 

[Poopy McButtfart]

8wt definitely

Not much for fish left. That river's best days are long past.

Small, traditional summer patterns should do the trick. It's steelheading, what you're swinging is much less important than where you're swinging it. Full dry line with long leader.

 

[stilly stalker]

There are still fish in the north fork... just not many where everyone else fishes. And since everyone seems to go to the same 3 or 4 spots, finding fish isn't too bad. There are actually quite a few springers in there right now in addition to the steelhead. Up till this week Ive still been fishing a type 3 head with big intruder flies, and still switch to that for deeper pools, especially if I think there's a chance that there are springers in there. I would fish a floating line in early am or late pmwhen the sun is off the water
And yes, definitely use an 8 wt, for the fishes sake, so you can get them in quickly and released without completely exhausting them

 

[Poopy McButtfart]

Targeting salmon on the NF isn't exactly legal.

 

[13223]

If you find yourself on the S.Fork you can find small rainbows. Do not overlook the pocket water. A 5 wt will be fine if this is where you end up. I like to use dry flies. I use something like a Grey Quill in the morning and EH Caddis in the evening. A parachute adams is always an good all around fly. The other day I did fine with attractor dry flies too.

Salmon are protected on the NF. You can find steelhead but I haven't been finding many. I have few spots that are off the beaten path that have produced a fish or 2 the past couple weeks. I spent my time on SF this week though so that is week old info. You can also find small rainbows on the NF but I never seem to find a lot of them. Typically I use an 8 wt with a sink tip on the NF. I like slender flies this time of year but that is more of a preference of the fisherman than the fish.

Both are pretty rivers and relaxing to fish.

 

[Will Carnaghi]

Hey all,
thanks for the advice from everyone, I was able to check it before I took off for the river yesterday. I wasn't able to put in any really serious fishing time because I was with a bunch of non-fishing friends who wanted me to show them how to fish. I did have a few chances to swing through some promising looking runs but nada. I did however keep catching these dink rainbows that were crazy about the muddler type fly I was using for steelhead.
Unfortunately there was a loooong parade of loud-as-hell rafting booze cruises forcing me to reel in every couple minutes. Does this put steelhead off even if they are constant throughout the day? probably right? anyway, any day fishing is a good day. Cheers.

 

[Poopy McButtfart]

Those little trout were most likely steelhead smolts. They are pretty tough to keep off the hook this time of year when you find where they're hanging out. Try what you can to do as little damage as possible to them

 

[stilly stalker]

Yeah, I never fish flies smaller than size 4 to try to keep them uninterested, but they still hit fairly frequently.