Henry’s Fork Streamflows
Island Park Dam: 1520 cfs
Ashton Dam: 2000 cfs
St. Anthony: 999 cfs
Fall River: 198 cfs
Hot days in the caldera here lately, with some relief in sight in the short term, but the forecast continues to show sunny and warm conditions in the long term. Keep those wide-brimmed hats handy and invest in a new tube of sunblock to stay comfortable out there! Keep a close eye on water temperatures, not only for the sake of the quality of your fishing, but with some consideration to our fishy friends. Thankfully, the Henry’s Fork is one of the most diverse rivers in the region and there are some fun fishing opportunities out there on these hot summer days. The Fork reduced in flow out of IP Reservoir the other day to mark the passing of peak irrigation demand for the summer, we’ll look for more decreases to come in the coming week or two, this should help the dry fly bite to improve. Turbidity looks good and appears to be average for the moment.
Box Canyon
This time of year is when the Box proves itself to be the workhorse of the river, providing anglers with fun fishing on most days. Flows are high enough to keep things moving, and as they decrease, some of the heavier water reaches will become more fishable. There are still good numbers of golden stones flying around in there, offering good action on the dry fly. Dry flies, dry/dropper rigs, indicator nymphing rigs and streamers are all a good choice in here. Dries, dry/dropper rigs, and streamers are all good bets when fishing on the run, indicator nymphing rigs are the choice for those spending more time working the runs. Lawson’s HF Golden Stone, Golden Waterwalker, and Joe Joe’s Golden Stone #6-10 are all good bets for the surface. For nymphs, we like PTs, R/L Tactical PTs, Split Cases, CDC Jig PTs, Red and Brown Zebra Midges 14-18; Two Bit Goldens, 101 Stones, Rubberlegs #6-10. Perdigons like the Spanish Bullet, Bullet Quill, Olive Hot Spot, Frenchies, PMD Bombs, and Red Jig Napoleons 14-18 are all good choices as well. We like heavy streamers on floating lines in there: Olive/Black, White, and Black BFEs, Olive and White Bouface Leeches, and Olive, White and Copper Zonkers are all good choices, especially in the upper 1/3 of the canyon and when the direct sunlight isn’t on the water for the rest of the float.
Railroad Ranch
While it’s been a fairly tough week on the Ranch overall with high flows and low numbers of insects on the water, there has been some great fishing to be found. Pay close attention to water temperatures to find optimum fishing conditions and keep a keen eye out for scattered riseforms that will identify the location of your quarry. With flows on the decrease, we will look for more trout to look to the surface for feeding, we’re anxious to see these well-fed rainbows start to rise again after a couple of weeks’ rest with July’s high flows! We are still seeing PMDs 14-16, occasional Flavs 12-14, Caddis 14-18, Gray Drakes 12, and Callibaetis 14-16 out there, it’s wise to keep emergers, duns and spent versions of each in your box. This is the time of year when it's wise to keep your selection of PMD emergers and variants handy and robust. The fish in the cooler water near springs are some of the most technically demanding trout in the river, so come prepared.
There are plenty of size 10 beetles around, and we’re on the lookout for flying ants in the coming week. No foray into the Ranch is complete without at least a small selection of grasshopper patterns, there are just enough of them around and we should start to notice an increase in both their size and number in the coming week. Aquatic weeds aren’t too much of an issue yet, but they’re beginning to drift in the lower portions of the Ranch with some consistency. Crowds have been low in number, so it’s a nice time to take your fly rod for a walk on just about any day, the observant angler can usually find a few trout to tango with.
Canyon Country
Steep canyon walls that offer later shade in the mornings and earlier shade in the afternoons make the canyons of the Fork a great place to be on these hot summer days. Splashy whitewater floats keep it cool and the fishing is fun for small to medium sized fish, with an occasional large trout to keep it interesting. No need to drift too far from the dry/dropper rigs in the canyons, but a streamer can be an interesting rig to try, especially where the water is white and fast. Remember that solid oarsmanship is required and inflatable rafts are recommended, if not a must! We like a high-visibility Chubby with a stonefly nymph of some sort about 3’ below, switch to a weighty perdigon or caddis to increase the action if the stonefly isn’t working. It’s hard not to enjoy the wilderness setting of these float sections.
Warm River to Ashton
There’s been some fun fishing down here lately with dry/dropper rigs and indicatory nymphing rigs. The higher flows allow for more bank habitat which keeps waters in play that won’t be in a few weeks. Good action in a beautiful setting best characterizes this section, and it usually offers anglers a fun day’s fishing. Fly selections are similar to those for the Box Canyon but throw in a few grasshopper patterns for the lower reaches.
Below Ashton Reservoir
The lower river has a little opportunity for a few hours of each day, but is generally left alone at this time of year, especially as water temperatures near 70 degrees. There are better places to fish at this time further upriver.
Get out there and have some fun!!
