Advice on South Snake / Henry's Fork trip

[scozach]

I am planning a trip to south eastern Idaho to fish the South Fork of the Snake and the Henry's Fork sometime this year with my dad and would love some advice. We will be looking for a good outfitter to drift with for a couple of days on these bigger rivers. We are also looking for some advice on the smaller tributaries streams to walk and wade in that general area. What is the best place to stay to be within striking distance of all these different rivers ( Rexburg / Rigby / St. Anthony) ? What is a good time or month?

Can't wait to catch some of those beautiful cutthroats.

Thanks,
Scott

[matooka]

We fish Montana Idaho every Spring. The last three attempts have been dismal resulting from too much rain or snow runoff. Four years ago, during the same time, we nailed it fishing the Missouri. I enjoy fishing the Rockies when it becomes a little more stable and warm...lots of terrestrials(hoppers, ants, etc.) The South Fork is an awesome body of water and fishes really well without much pressure. If you're up for a hike, fish Palisades Creek which runs between two reservoirs before feeding the South Fork. The hike is approximately 4 miles but well worth it. A little bushwhacking is necessary to get to the fish. All of your fishing will be sight casting dries to Cutts and Brook Trout. A 15" fish is considered big. You will catch many fish. A stealthy approach on your hands and knees is also important. This is great water for a 3-5 weight rod.
Another fun spot is Teton Creek located out of Driggs...although I've recently heard the fishing has been decimated from erosion? The ultimate spot worth trying is the Bechler River inside Yellowstone Park. You access the park from Ashton and drive to the ranger station. A permit can be purchased at the general store in Ashton or at the ranger station. Bring the pepper spray. You can also fish the Fall River where it's fed by the Bechler. Beautiful country, no pressure, and plenty of fish. If hiking is an issue...fish the Fall River which borders the back side of Yellowstone as you can drive and park closer to fishing opportunities without all of the work.

[JGB]

You can catch fish in any stream you can shake a stick at. Like playing hoops on an 8ft rim. Now if you want to get picky about size or numbers...walk/hike a little farther than the last guy!

Weather, run-off, crowds, bugs(the biting kind, not the fishing kind) can all be issues...

I would also consider West Yellowstone and J-Hole for home bases. Both are pretty fun towns. Depending on schedule, maybe a couple of different bases?

Hiking in to one of Slough Creek's Meadows is as good as it gets anywhere. Bring bug nets, or long sleeves though. And grizzly nets too. You can fish the Lamar when your over there also. Did I mention bring a grizzly net? ...or a change of underwear just in case. All it takes is one encounter and life never appears the same...in a good way though!

Too many shops to name that can reference guides. Have no personal guide experience as I am a DIY guy, sorry!

Plenty of detailed books on the area out there. Kinda tough to find "secret" water. If there is such a thing, it's probably on private property.

Careful not to get into a mad rush to get to a "name" river, as you might be passing by lots of other good stuff. Take a topographic map of the area for drainage info. Google maps works too.

I get to go there again in September and I can't wait!

[Jaybinder]

I think there's a member here who guides that area during the summer. Sorry but I don't remember his name. I'm sure someone else does. Have a great trip.

Jason

Ps there are some very nasty biting flys out there, wear pants and long sleeves.

[Fly Guy Dave]

I head back that way almost every summer, so I'm relatively familiar with the conditions there. I agree with everything that has been said in the other replies, all good advice. I find myself on lesser-know streams more often now and I might not catch the largest fish, but certainly greater numbers and the experience and solitude is much more memorable than on some of the marquee rivers in the area.

If you want to stay someplace that is more or less equi-distant from Henry's Fork and the South Fork, I'd recommend Driggs. It's like a mini Jackson Hole, but on the Idaho side and around an hours' drive to either of the two rivers you're wondering about.

Flows and conditions depend on the kind of winter they're having, which is approximately 80% of normal, as of today. Certainly better than we are here in CA, but a lot less than the deluge they had last year. As a general rule, I'd say that the conditions should be OK by mid-July, unless they get a LOT of snow in the coming weeks. I often monitor the reports from fly shops in the area to determine when the best time to go would be.

As far as guides go, I can't help you there, as I've never hired one. I am a DIY kind of guy.

Cheers!

--FG Dave

[JGB]

http://www.rjsflytrips.com/

This gent guides locally for part of the year and then goes to ID for another part of the year.

Don't know him personally or professionally, but he is kind enough to post some really good reports, as well as give pertinent advise that seems to be spot on. Seems to be a pretty nice guy and gives good fishing info.

(just gave me some good advise on a different thread!)

JGB

[Pound]

And the piece of advice that I can give you on fishing the Ranch on Henry’s Fork is to cast to ONE fish. We were fishing it one day, and there were plenty of sippers gathered in a pod, and the smallest of the bunch was not small at all. But there were so many insects on the water that the fish were not rising to a particular bug, but would rise on a timing pattern and eat whatever was in front of them at the time. What newcomers tend to do will be to see one rise, cast to it, then see another rise and then cast to that one - so you are always chasing the rise.

Instead, what I did was pick a fish, and just cast to it, using the Fall River twitch. Casting up or across is futile because of all the insects on the water, it will show any drag on your fly and there are plenty of micro-currents present.

The canyon section had an inner tube and beer hatch going on.

Of course this was in my 1 day fishing this stretch, but this was the advice that was given to me, and for a first timer on that river, I had a good day.

best regards,
LB

[RJSFLYTRIP]

I have been guiding the S. Fork of the Snake the last 5 summers. So I can be your expert in that area. However the Henry's Fork you would be best to ask Jarrett Black (frequenter of the site). A good friend of mine and frequenter of the Henrys Fork.

If your goal is to fish both of these rivers then Driggs is the ideal place to stay. Lots of choices from there even beyond the 2 big name rivers. Timing is a little tough as the Henrys Fork is about 1 month ahead of the S. Fork. The salmon fly hatch on the H. comes off in mid may (typically) while it does not come off on the S. until mid-late June. For the S.Fork the best time is going to be July. This is by far the best month to fish out there as you will have multiple hatches going on at the same time. You will have golden stones to get the banks active as well as a huge pink albert pmd hatch that will get all of the foam holes and riffles going off. Seriously it is hard to go wrong with this month. The first time you fish the South Fork get a guide so that they can put you on the section that is going to fish the best. Lots of options with 60+ river miles.

For an outfitter I work for The Lodge at Palisades Creek in Irwin, ID (www.tlapc.com). There are lots of great guides who work here and I highly recommend them. If you are into catching fish then these guys get it done.

Other spots to consider.......assumming you are in Driggs. Teton River is right in town. Smaller creeks in Swan Valley........Palisades Creek and Bear Creek are some of my favorite. If you are up for a drive on the south side of Palisades Reservoir there is the Greys River (WY) that is awesome. Lots of fish and good sized cuttys with plenty of access as the river follows a dirt road for 30+ miles. Little Greys River has bigger fish and the farther you drive the road the bigger they get. A favorite spot for locals!

Well that should point you in the right direction. It is hard to go wrong up there. Tons of water with lots of fish. Even the irrigation ditches have trout in them. The last 2 years it has been more important to plan your trip on runoff conditions. So I would wait until this spring before you start making any definitive plans. As the last 2 years the S. Fork was not fishable until the end of July. Typically the river is fishable by the 3 week of June but they have been hammered with snow the last couple of years.

Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Tight Lines,
Ryan Johnston
www.rjsflytrips.com

[frequent flyer]

It would be better to headquarter in one place (Last Chance) for the Henry's Fork, then move to another place on the South Fork to fish that river. Staying in a single place in the middle somewhere would mean you drive a fairly long distance every day (e.g. Driggs to H. Fork 50-60 mi, Driggs to S. Fork 30 mi. or more). Better to do the drive only once, moving from headquarters #1 to headquarters #2.

Best fishing on the H. Fork is probably June 15-July 15. Best fishing on S. Fork is considerably later, and going before July 15 risks high water and limited or marginal fishing. 2011 had high water on the S. Fork until end of July and the reservoirs on the S. Fork are already unusually full right now, so will likely mean delayed season again in 2012. You would be safer starting your trip on the H. Fork, then going to S. Fork and the later you go, the less chance of a blowout on the S. Fork. I'd wait until mid to late July to start your trip. H. Fork is likely to be fishable (even if it's not at its best) most anytime during the season.

[RJSFLYTRIP]

The S. Fork is not a great fishery come late July early august. As you are in between hatches. It is still good no doubt but it you want to hit it in primetime then take note. Earlier it was mentioned that the good fishing is considerably later than July 15 and that is misleading. The prime time fishing on the S.Fork is from July 4th until about the 3rd/4th week of the month. Once the goldens are gone then the banks get tough until the hoppers show up. The hopper hatch on the S. Fork is not that great. There are enough to get the fish interested but the golden stone hatch (matures and mutants) are really our main bank food. The matures come off in early July and the mutants start coming off in mid August once they start dropping the water. So there is a period between the two hatches where bank fishing becomes difficult. Plus the closer you get to August the more pickier the fish are as they have been fished over for more than a month. Less hatches and more fisherman makes for less success.

Two years ago the S.Fork was fishable by July 4th while last year was July 18th. I wouldn't plan on going any earlier than July but make sure to watch water levels to decipher what is going to be best this year. July is awesome and dont let anyone tell you anything different.

[frequent flyer]

What people consider "fishable" varies from person to person. Last season, the many guides I talked to didn't consider the S. Fork truly fishable until the end of July. Yes, you could fish it with weighted nymphs under a bobber, but it was cold, fast, very high, off-color and not very interesting to fish. According to the USGS gauge at Heise it was at 20,000 cfs from July 1 to about July 25 and that, to me and most others I know, is too much water for fun fishing. Maybe there were some exceptional days, but most guides I know went elsewhere if they had a choice in July.

Though there can certainly be very good fishing in July, there can also be years like last year when the fishing is marginal at best. At least one lodge on the S. Fork offered refunds or changes of dates to guests who had booked last July because they didn't think it was fair to charge for the poor fishing caused by high water. With the already high reservoir levels right now, that could also be a possibility in 2012.

[scozach]

A huge thanks to all the guys that posted replies. You guys have made a positive impact on our future trip.

This is a great resource with a great supporting group. I look forward to posting some pics when I get home.

Thanks again,
Scott