Henrys Fork Advice

[Jcolin]

Going to Colorado most of July to visit my brother in Durango. We lucked out with a permit for the Middle Fork Salmon river in ID. Last week of July (I already made a post about that and got a lot of generous advice from you guys). Have heard much about the Henrys Fork and we may have some time to do a detour (know it's a few hours out of the way) to fish either the Henrys or the South Fork of the
Snake river. For those on here that have fished these rivers, wondering what section you'd recommend. The box canyon sounds intriguing for a hike in, but we also will have our raft with us for any suggestions for a day float.

Thanks very much, Joel

[gitt]

Don’t over look the put in area above Box Canyon. Great fishing can be had if you can fish to the opposite bank. The whole river downstream lights up with top surface action in the evening as well. Great memories and no pressure. You didn’t hear about it here.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Every year in the Winter and Spring we would get in our customers who went on their annual pilgrimage to ID/MT in the summer.

They spent months coming by our shop getting ready for this annual adventure and told us all their great stories.


Don Rotsma and Rick Jorgensen have been making this trip for over 30 years now and I was lucky to be invited along in the 1980s.

I had heard stories for many years from the old timers of the 'Gezzer Patrol' who fish it annually after World War II.

It was my most memorable trip for moving water wild trout fly fishing trip......thanks to Don and Rick.



Every summer Bob Giannoni use to run the legendary 'Fenwick Fly Fishing Schools' just outside of West Yellowstone in the 1970s.

He went to college in Bozeman, MT where he got more great fly fishing in.

Today Bob is retired from the California Highway Patrol living and fishing in Fort Collins, CO.


Walt Bennett use to work for Bob at the schools so he spent many summers there as well.


Retired Colusa school teacher, David Armocido, use to go to Ennis, MT every summer to do some great stream dry fly fishing.

He finally retired and moved to Missoula, Montana. I was able to visit David and he took me to the famous Rock Creek.

That was my single best day of dry fly fishing while wading in a freestone stream. Thanks to David.



If you want to take a trip in the summer, July, August, September, to Idaho/Montana let me know.

[TroutHunter10]

Fish it if you get the chance. One of my favorite places in the world. In my opinion, prime time on the HF is Mid-late June for the green drakes/flavs. The salmonflies are always a huge draw but overrated unless you time it perfectly.

The PMDs, my second favorite hatch and usually the most predictable and consistent, usually last from mid June to mid July and you can usually find fish on the banks sipping spinners in the AM and PM. Theres nothing better than headhunting fish sipping spinners on the bank!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Fish it if you get the chance. One of my favorite places in the world. In my opinion, prime time on the HF is Mid-late June for the green drakes/flavs. The salmonflies are always a huge draw but overrated unless you time it perfectly.

The PMDs, my second favorite hatch and usually the most predictable and consistent, usually last from mid June to mid July and you can usually find fish on the banks sipping spinners in the AM and PM. Theres nothing better than headhunting fish sipping spinners on the bank!

Thanks for the obviously knowledgeable information TH.

[HSano]

Long ago I used to fish the Henrys Fork but always in late September. I don't remember if it was in one of his videos or whether I heard him say it but Mike Lawson said "When in doubt, put on a beetle". Following his advice, I caught my biggest fish from the Fork on a beetle. I don't know if beetles work in the early season but I would put a few in my vest just to be safe.

[Jcolin]

Thank you all! I appreciate the hatch/fly suggestions. Am hoping there will be some good dry fly fishing when im out there. If its slow fishing will still be cool to check out a famous trout river ive heard about for years.

[Idadon]

The Henry’s was a spectacular fishery but in the 90’s took a major hit when Island Park Reservoir was drained. Lots of silt went down river causing spawning problems. The river, IMO, has never fully recovered. I still fish it occasionally but downriver, below Ashton dam. As far as Box Canyon there is a put in directly below Island Park dam and a nice float from there to Last Chance, maybe 5 miles. Walking in is not difficult in places but wading can be interesting as the river cuts thru lava and has lots of big boulders. In July you’ll likely encounter lots of rafters that are there just to play in the water. The float itself is pretty easy if you can dodge the rocks.

Back before the big silt dump in the 90’s we used to catch some huge Bows on bead head Prince nymphs. I generally only fished dries during the Trout Fly (Salmon Flies) hatch. From Last Chance down thru the Ranch section is easy fishing but not necessarily easy catching. Stop in at Mike Lawson’s shop in Last Chance for info. The South Fork fishes good in July with PMD patterns BUT without a guide it’s big water and hard to deal with.

[PV_Premier]

Last year the HF was basically too warm to fish other than in the box for a lot of the summer. Not sure how it's gonna shape up this year but in my opinion earlier is always better, end of July into August might be pretty slow fishing.

The SF stays a lot colder in mid-summer and the side channel fishing below the dam and above the bridge can be a good diversion. With that said, expect a lot of company.

With access to a raft, the Salt should not be overlooked, nor the Snake below Jackson Lake. The Greys is an interesting river that is also raft friendly in the lower reaches, but getting a shuttle over there might be a little tougher.

I will be in Victor for the whole of July, you can send me a PM closer to the end of the month and I can let you know what is up. The fishing reports on Worldcast Anglers are also pretty consistently updated and reliable.

[Jcolin]

Thanks PV and Idadon! Appreciate everybody’s input very much. PV I will definitely take you up on that and PM you closer to my departure for a report.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Nice to see that some members here are still making the Pilgrimage to ID/MT in the summer.




Many California anglers fish NorCal in May/June for trout then take off in July/August/September for ID/MT, etc.

Then Oct/Nov is good again in NorCal.

[PV_Premier]

Thanks PV and Idadon! Appreciate everybody’s input very much. PV I will definitely take you up on that and PM you closer to my departure for a report.

An update for you. I have not been out on the HF but I hear it is fishing pretty decent now with smaller dries (drakes, caddis). South Fork is also getting better with dry stones and droppers, especially in the lower-middle sections. The flow out there is very high.

The blue lines are fishing great and the smaller freestone rivers too. We had a 40-50 fish day on the Hoback last week.

I am floating the narrows of the Teton on Sunday and can post a report about how it is but I expect it to be good with big foam flies.

Since float day will be a real workout, tomorrow will probably be a small stream day close to home. Monday the same. We will try the Greys next weekend.

I was in SF for work the past couple days so haven't fished since this past Sunday or so.

[Idadon]

Be careful floating that Teton River canyon. A good friend lost his drift boat in there years ago in some challenging water. The the flip side, there used to be some trophy trout in that stretch, lots of rattlers too. I used to hike down many years ago but don’t have the legs for it anymore.

[PV_Premier]

Yep. We are going with a guide (in a raft) who floats the canyon several times a season. He will be on the oars.

[frequent flyer]

The Henry's Fork is in very good shape. I've fished it every year for the past 50+ years and am on it for most of the season. The silt spill was 30+ years ago and doesn't have much effect on today's fishing. The fishing last year was exceptional, with large numbers of 16-20" fish in the population and many of those have survived another year to become 20" and bigger this season. Warm water was not a problem last year - the main issue is high flows for irrigation during the middle of the summer - and even that doesn't stop the good fishing. The best times for fishing are mid June to mid July and again in the fall, but the river in the Island Park area has good hatches and rising fish throughout the summer. The key to the fish population is winter flows - good winter flows promote good survival, and the winter flows have been good for the past three years, thanks to the efforts of the Henry's Fork Foundation. The lower river below Ashton is good until about mid July, then not very good until September, but has a terrific population of Browns in the 18" range.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks FF,

This sounds like really good intel.