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South Fork of the Snake: A Legendary Fishery and the Grassroots Effort Protecting Its Future

The South Fork of the Snake River in southeast Idaho is one of the most iconic fisheries in North America. These people plan to keep it that way.

South Fork of the Snake River: A Legendary Fishery and the Grassroots Effort Protecting Its Future
The South Fork of the Snake River begins at Palisades Dam near Irwin, Idaho, and flows northwest 66 miles to its confluence with the Henry’s Fork near the Menan Buttes. (Courtesy of Henry’s Fork Foundation photo)

This article was originally titled “Guardians of the South Fork” in the February-March 2026 issue of Fly Fisherman.


Standing at the edge of a riffle in Section One, a few miles below Palisades Dam, is my good friend Ron Miller. His eyes are locked on a large rising trout, feasting on hatching Pale Morning Duns in the beautiful afternoon sunlight. If I told him his hair was on fire, he wouldn’t hear a word I said—he is that focused. He makes a precise cast and gets a good drift above the feeding fish, only to have it ignored. Continuing to study what precisely it’s feeding on, he decides on a different bug.

“I need to go a...

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