The Henry’s Fork continues to prove itself as the premier dry fly destination for discerning fly anglers worldwide. Fish health is outstanding, aquatic insect life is thriving and the overall fisherman consensus is that the river is fishing as good as, or better, than ever. From those 14-16” silver bullets to the 19-22” age class and beyond, we are most certainly living in hog heaven. As we move through the remainder of July and in to August, watch for trico and callibaetis to become a more relevant menu item for the trout. The terrestrial option will become more important as well, particularly hoppers and ants. In addition, morning and evening spinner falls will continue to close the deal on good trout. The crowds are down, the weather is fine and the fishing is great. Here’s what’s happenin’ out on the Fork.
BOX CANYON: The Box continues to run around 1400cfs, which makes for a comfortable float option. We’re still seeing some golden stones on warmer sunny afternoons. Present golden imitations in and around middle river boulders and eddies. Nymphing with an assortment of stonefly patterns and a variety of bead head droppers will take good fish throughout the day. On the lower end of the canyon, when the waters calm a bit, look for nice trout to be rising to flavs, PMD’s and spinners. Early, late and foul weather streamer fishing continues to bring more robust trout to the net.
LAST CHANCE THRU THE RANCH: PMD’s, caddis and flavs persist as the prominent hatches through this section of the Henry’s Fork. We’re still seeing strong morning and evening falls of PMD, flav and grey drake spinners. A few tricos are about and this hatch will only get stronger as we move through the remainder of July and in to August. We should start to see some callibaetis activity as well within the next few weeks. Having the terrestrials at the ready, notably hoppers and ants, is a great way to turn the trick on finicky mid-day sippers. The trout are getting more selective here, but a stealthy approach and drag free drift will yield fine results.
WARM RIVER TO ASHTON: This section of the river, also known as ‘Ol reliable, fishes well through the entire summer season. Caddis, PMD’s, golden stones, yellow sallies, flavs and terrestrials should be your primary focus for the dry fly game. Below the surface, try rubber-leg nymphs trailed by a hodgepodge of bead head droppers. Another effective approach this time of year is the hopper-dropper set up. Fish these combo’s tight to the bank and around structure. Presenting streamer patterns both early and late in the day has been turning some larger than average trout.
THE LOWER RIVER: This stretch of river has slowed considerably due to the steady summer heat. If you do fish down here, do it early and late and on cooler foul weather days. Hopper-dropper and streamers will be your best bet to tie in to a few trout. This stretch will be off until we see some of the cooler weather of Autumn.
THE LAKES: Henry’s Lake is starting to improve and we’re seeing higher concentrations of fish near the creek mouths and springs. Throw the trout an assortment of still water nymphs, leeches and bugger patterns. Hebgen is really starting to heat up with the callibaetis. The best times are 9am through 1 or two in the afternoon, or until thew wind forces you off. There’s been a few tricos around as well.
THE MADISON: Golden stones, green drakes, PMD’s, flavs, caddis and terrestrials. Stonefly nymphs with bead head droppers. Chuck streamers earyl, late and on cloudier days. The evening caddis fishing has been off the hook and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
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