Henry's Fork Area Fishing Report

Updated: June 25, 2010 by Weston Reynolds

At risk of jinxing the stretch of great weather we have experienced here in Last Chance, I will hesitantly declare that summer has arrived, and not a day too soon either. Gone is the gray, the rain, and the cold, replaced by sunshine, bountiful hatches, and the rising trout of our off-season, cabin-fever-provoked dreams. Harriman State Park's Railroad Ranch section of the Henry's Fork has borne strong hatches of Pale Morning Duns, hatching late morning into early afternoon with decent numbers of large fish being caught. The fishing has improved exponentially on the river below Ashton. The fishing has been good lately from Ashton Dam downstream all the way to Saint Anthony with fish rising to PMDs, Caddis, Green Drakes, Golden Stones, and Flavs. We are still awaiting the arrival of the highly revered Grey Drake hatch, but reports of the occasional Grey Drake lead us to believe that this hatch is not far away and will hopefully yield some of the most exciting dry fly fishing of the year. Additionally, the Madison has fallen to reasonable levels and should start fishing well soon, the Firehole, Gibbon, and Madison in Yellowstone National Park all continue to fish well. The South Fork has also fallen to a more manageable level of approximately 15,000 cfs with decent nymphing. The fishing is coming into its prime—stop by the shop for the latest before hitting the river.

Upper Henry's Fork - Box Canyon:

The Box is the perennial go-to for us here in Last Chance when fishing is marginal elsewhere. True to its consistent nature, the Box Canyon has yielded decent to excellent fishing with good numbers of rainbows up to 20 inches being caught on the standard fare of beadhead nymphs, sizes 14-18. Try throwing a double nymph rig with a stonefly, size 6-8, trailing a Beadhead Flashback Pheasant Tail, Copper John, Zebra Midge, or Electric Caddis in sizes 14-18 six feet below a strike indicator with a BB splitshot. There are several ospreys hanging out in Will's Run that have developed quite a reputation in the past several weeks for realizing what a plentiful resource of fresh trout fisherman can be. Several of our guides have had these birds divebomb fish hooked by clients, flying away with the fish, and breaking them off. Don't be surprised if you get an unexpected aerial visit from these guys while nymphing Will's Run!

Upper Henry's Fork
- Harriman Park / Last Chance:

PMDs and Caddis account for the majority of the bug activity currently on the Ranch though a few Green Drakes have been spotted. The fishing is best late-morning to early-afternoon as the PMDs emerge, however the evening fishing will begin to pick up as the warm weather hangs around. Expect Flavs and Green Drakes shortly. If the Ranch fish are beating you up, switch to an ant or a beetle to turn the tables.

Middle Henry's Fork
- Riverside Campground to Warm River:

Access to this stretch is limited, but the intrepid angler who is willing to do some hiking and bushwacking very well may be rewarded with good fishing. Keep eyes peeled for Golden Stoneflies.

Middle Henry's Fork - Warm River to Ashton:

As always, fish are responding well to nymphs, mostly brown and black rubberleg stoneflies and beadhead mayfly nymphs. Caddis, PMDs, and some errant Drakes have all been reported. A dry-dropper rig with a Golden Stonefly imitation, such as a Chubby Chernobyl, would be a good bet.

Lower Henry's Fork
- Ashton Dam to Saint Anthony:

The fishing in this stretch has been some of the best on the river with decent surface activity in the mornings on PMDs and in the evenings of Caddis. Flavs have also begun their emergence, providing good fishing late in the day. A few Green Drakes have been spotted and expect more to appear in the coming days. The Grey Drake is a perennial favorite of all who frequent the lower Henry's Fork—few hatches are so prolific and offer as good of opportunities to catch large fish on dry flies as the Grey Drakes. There have been a few Drakes spotted, though nothing of any significance to get the fish cueing on them, though we are hoping that this hatch will materialize in the next week or so. Also be on the lookout for Golden Stoneflies—while the naturals may or may not be present in any significant number, the fish are conditioned to them and will frequently eat an artificial imitation with gusto and unbridled confidence.

Lower Henry's Fork
- St. Anthony to the Confluence:

Fishing has been erratic but decent fishing can be had with fish rising to PMDs as well as Golden Stones. Look for similar bug activity as reported above.

Henry's Fork Tributaries:

Tributaries will mostly remain unfishable for a few weeks due to snowmelt, though good bets would be the Fall River, Warm River, Robinson Creek, and the Teton River.

The Madison River:

Runoff has subsided on the Madison and the river is running just under 1,000 cfs out of Hebgen Lake, a reasonable flow for this time of year. The nymph fishing has been consistently decent with rubberleg stonefly nymphs, sz 6-10, and beadhead nymphs such as Flashback Pheasant Tails, Zebra Midges, Mercer's Micro Mayfly Nymph, Electric Caddis, and others, size 14-18. There have been sporadic hatches of Baetis, Caddis, and PMDs. Surface activity should improve as the warmer weather persists. Don't be surprised to encounter stoneflies soon.

Area Lakes:

Reports from Henry's Lake have reflected marginal fishing, with most fish being caught early and late in the day. Sporadic midge activity on Hebgen has brought some fish to the surface. Good numbers of nice cutthroats, 18-22 inches, have been caught on Yellowstone Lake on streamers fished deep. Few reports have come from Quake, Cliff, and Wade Lakes, though the standard fare of leeches and small baitfish imitations fished on sinking lines should produce fish if no surface activity is present.

South Fork of the Snake River:

The river flow is vacillating on either side of 15,000 cfs out of Palisades Reservoir as the Tetons continue to experience snowmelt. Little dry fly activity is present, however nymph fishing in the riffles and on the banks has been decent with rubberleg stonefly nymphs and small beadhead nymphs. Hopefully the river will continue to drop and the warm weather will jumpstart the dry fly fishing that the South Fork is famous for. We recommend checking with South Fork Outfitters for the latest report on the flows and the fishing

Yellowstone National Park:

The fishing continues to be excellent on the Firehole, Madison, and Gibbon Rivers with excellent hatches of caddis and PMDs. Cloudy days will offer the best fishing on these rivers. Evidently some stoneflies have been present on the Madison in the Park. The Firehole will start to wane with the warmer weather as water temps increase and bug and fish activity shutdown, however it should continue to fish well for the next week or more, especially in the evenings and mornings. One angler reported excellent fishing recently on Yellowstone Lake fishing streamers for Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout.

Tight Lines!