Fly Fishing Henry's Fork

[packerfannate]

Hello all,

I am new to this forum. I live in Utah and have been an avid fly fisher for more than 20 years. I am planning a trip to the Island Park area for a family reunion and would like to fish the Henry's Fork. I have never fished it before. Any suggestions? I have looked into a guided trip but it may be out of my price range.

My wife is also an avid fisher and we will be bringing our pontoon boats and also plan to fish Henry's lake. Any advice here would also be welcome.

We are tentatively looking at the middle of July for our trip.

Thanks in advance,
Nate
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[wiperhunter2]

Welcome to the site Nate, I'm going to move your post to the main Utah board because it will get the most views there and hopefully more replies as well.
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[_6x_]

Hi Nate,

Everybody should fish the Henry's Fork sometime. I have family in SE Idaho and used to fish it regularly. I've kind of gotten out of the habit. As everyone says about everything, I feel like it used to be better fishing than it is now. But I'm not fishing it enough lately to know the details.

Just to give you the lay of the land, this series of articles about the lower river, the ranch, and the box canyon section offers a helpful overview of your choices:
https://www.hatchmag.com/articles/henrys...er/7714427

Like most people, the ranch section is my favorite. It's highly accessible, so if you get the right patterns I think it's easy enough to fish yourself. The water is mostly quite shallow, so the amount of water that can hold fish is actually somewhat limited. You'll know where the fish are by seeing where the most people want to fish. The water has looked a lot the same for a long time.

If you're there in July, I'd plan to arrive fairly early in the morning and then fish morning and midday. (It might just be prejudice, but I only do well in the afternoons there in the fall.)

In the summer, I'd have caddis and caddis emergers on hand, and I'd try some hopper fishing in midday along the grassy banks. You can always through a streamer through deeper runs, and sometimes that works. On the ranch section, you want everything light, or you'll be in the moss quickly. In the canyon, you can use weighted nymphs. Fish the pocket water, etc.

In deep summer the river and the lake can both be fishing slow. I've had days though where I've had one rise all day, but still felt like the single fish made it well worth the effort.

A thing you might consider is having a few backup plans in the area. You can consult with Jimmy's Flyshop in Idaho Falls, or have a look at their website for reports. Fishing a few smaller streams in the area might be a good balance for fishing on the Henry's Fork.

https://jimmysflyshop.com/

Good luck and take care. This is a good season for planning summer trips.

Ryan
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[Tarponjim]

Ryan's comments are very accurate. I might add that the river below Ashton Res. is a good place to float in your pontoons. Shuttles are available in Ashton. It can get warm down there, but if we have a cooler start to summer like this past year, mid-July is still a good time for a float in the pontoons.

Wade-fish the ranch below Island Park Res. (below Box Canyon) as well for a classic dry-fly experience. Match the hatches, and fish beetles and ants.
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[fishalot13]

The ranch can get very busy during the day from open june 15th through labor day. for sure hit it early and you really need to have ur drift perfect. Those fish see a lot of flies. The box gets tubers in the summer so there is that to deal with. but is very floatable on ur pontoon. Henrys lake around the end of june first of july starts to pick back up. Id call and talk with Henrys fork fly shop when ur up there for a good report. I always pick up a few supplies while im there to say thank you. They have always taken care of my when there. I tie and fish my own flies only. I did not have a kit and they let me use one of theirs and i bought the materials form them. If you brave the crowds! the Madison in Montana always has fish. They are talking about limiting how many rods they let fish it. quake lake and hebgen is a great place to fly fish as well early and late in the day find the weed beds and cast to the outside. great dry action. and yes ashton is a great place to fish also but, it gets hot down there. any questions feel free to pm.
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[SkunkedAgain]

I'm not that skilled at flicking the fly, but I do like to troll a leach behind my toon on Henry's Lake, those fish have such big shoulders that they can almost pull the rod out of your hands... You'll want at least a 6 WT and I don't think an 8 is out of the question... I found the fish in the shallower water rising up out of the weeds on the south west corner last summer and really enjoyed my day... But I like big fish, and bigs on a fly rod is that much more special... Blacks and purple seemed to be the colors that worked best for me.. Sorry not more help, but I love that lake and I think you'll enjoy that part of the trip... Have fun... Jeff
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[pookiebar]

There are NO FISH in the Henry’s Fork!![]

I haven’t fished it as often as I would like. But the box canyon area is great to fish nymphs and holds some really big fish in it. Access is harder with a steep decent down to the river. But it is very doable. The Ranch is
extremely technical water. Fun to catch a fish there because it is a challenge; but it is a challenge.
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[sagedave]

Fish it a day or two every time my family goes t Yellowstone. Hit Trouthunter fly shop or the shop across the street, early in the morning, get their recommendations on what flies to use, they are very helpful. Then go out and cast only to rising fish, DO NOT SHOTGUN the water, you will spook them. Doing this has been successful every time, even though the shops tell you that you will need a guide to get fish in the bet.
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