Snake River fly fishing

What the day is

The Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat lives nowhere else on earth. We put two anglers in a drift boat with a guide who has fished this stretch since the 1990s and let the river do the rest.

Beginners are genuinely welcome. Half our summer guests have never held a fly rod, and the first hour is spent on casting in slow water before anything serious is attempted. Experienced anglers can skip that and go straight to the riffles.

The float covers roughly eight miles between Wilson and South Park, depending on flows. Lunch is eaten on a gravel bar: cold fried chicken, a salad from the kitchen garden, and something cold from the cooler.

This is catch and release, barbless, with the fish handled wet and returned quickly. Your guide carries the licence paperwork and will sort your day permit at the shop on the way out.

How the day runs

1. 8:00 amLeave the lodgeRods loaded, coffee in hand, twenty minutes to the launch.
2. 8:45 amCastingAn hour of slow water for anyone new to a fly rod.
3. 12:30 pmGravel bar lunchKitchen picnic on a bar with no one else on it.
4. 4:00 pmTake outBack at the lodge by half past four.