The South Fork Hilton
Finding the luxury of solitude on the riverbank
Anglers from around the world travel to fish the South Fork of the Snake River. On the WorldCast Anglers South Fork Hilton Overnight fly fishing adventure, you can spend a night in luxury on the banks of that renowned fishery.
Precious are the days when you un-tether yourself from the world and become absorbed in the swish, flick, swish, flick of the fly rod. Imagine this: The summer sun is about to crest the gentle hills, the predawn twilight chasing out the black, starry sky. You wake in a canvas-wall tent, stirring in a feathery bed. Cottonwood leaves rustle in the slight wind that accompanies the warming of the earth.
You wake from a dream of casting from a drift boat into smooth, riverine waters and catching a native cutthroat trout. But that dream is actually a memory of the day before, and a vision of what’s to come. That idyllic, no-computers, lots-of-trout reverie is reality on the WorldCast Anglers South Fork Hilton Overnight trip, a one-night, two-days-of-fishing getaway that doesn’t require you to rearrange your whole summer around executing it.
“People get this great, compartmentalized camping experience with incredible fishing, food, and service in a remote area, then they go enjoy restaurants and amenities in the greater Jackson Hole region the next day,” says Mike Dawkins, president of WorldCast Anglers.
The Hilton is a long-running offering, dating back two decades, long enough for WorldCast Anglers guides to have honed the experience and developed a loyal following of customers who return every year for a valuable reset.
Take Ray Thompson, who took his first trip to the Hilton in August 2008. His wife bought him a trip for his fiftieth birthday, sending him with his father, son, and brother-in-law. “It was just a magical couple of days,” Ray says, “and we’ve been going back just about every year or sometimes a couple times a year since.”
Taken literally, the word Hilton evokes an image of a comfy hotel, one that can range into the realm of luxury. Taken with a small grain of salt, the tongue-in-cheek name suggests a level of ease and comfort not always associated with river trips, let alone ones that add camping in the mix.
Starting at the WorldCast Anglers’ fly shop in Victor, Hilton-goers can grab the flies and gear they need before being whisked over Pine Creek Pass via Highway 31 to Swan Valley, a quick half-hour drive away. Most often, they put in on the South Fork of the Snake River at the Spring Creek Bridge boat ramp. For those unfamiliar with the South Fork, it’s a world-class fishery for
brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout that has attracted global luminaries
from politics, business, and more. (Comedian and late-night host Jimmy
Kimmel even owns the South Fork Lodge, which the WorldCast Anglers float passes.)
The agenda for day one is simple: Fish, enjoy a big riverside lunch, fish, arrive at camp. Camp life consists of happy hour, dinner, campfire, bedtime. Day two is more of the same: breakfast, fish, riverside lunch, fish, home. Where the magic happens in that seemingly simple itinerary is the quality of each piece.
Start with the fishing. To hear about a world-renowned trout river and luxury overnight, one might assume the trip caters to those who tie their own flies and study entomology to learn hatch cycles. It does. However, WorldCast Anglers guides can also tailor the experience to the uninitiated. Ray has been out with groups well-versed in their river knowledge, but he said taking newbies out on the Hilton trip brings a special level of satisfaction.
“Usually, I’m sitting in the back watching a friend or family member hook up their first-ever fish in the midst of this magical scenery,” Ray says. That landscape he is referring to is the South Fork Canyon, an inaccessible-by-road section of river hemmed in by cliffs and lined with cottonwoods, firs, and pines.
Once the fishing is done and the drift boats skim into camp, Hilton attendees spend the night in that rimrocked area most anglers simply pass through. And they do so in style. Camp consists of five wall tents with a pair of beds in each one, a kitchen/eating area, and a campfire pit, all connected by a maze of trails that gives the place an air of privacy. “It makes it feel a little bit more intimate than if it was just like a big camping field,” Mike says. Clients’ goal at camp is relaxation. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks are served post-fishing, followed by a western dinner of steak, starch, and sweets for dessert. Those looking for a quiet evening can escape the hubbub of camp and sip a glass of wine on the deck of their abode.
Evening in the canyon, when the rest of the boats have passed by or made camp, is one of the trip highlights. Sure, you’ll catch a lot of fish, get better at casting, and eat delicious food, but the sheer time spent in the roadless, secluded canyon might be the biggest draw. That chance to unplug and watch the twilight disappear through the leaves of the cottonwoods is, after all, the sort of thing we all need more of in this frenetic world.
As Mike says: “You sort of step back, take a deep breath, and you look around and know you have the place to yourself.”
Book Your Trip
Prime summer months carry the highest demand, and WorldCast Anglers recommends interested individuals plan their fly fishing adventures as soon as possible.
Shoulder season (June & September) openings are more readily available.
VISIT: worldcastanglers.com
EMAIL: gofish@worldcastanglers.com
CALL: 800.654.0676.
