02-06-2020, 11:29 PM
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
[signature]
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
[signature]