Henry’s Fork

Pteronarcys californica…. two words that strike excitement in the minds of avid fly fishers everywhere…. better known as….salmonflies!  In our fly fishing adventures, we’d yet to really hit a true salmonfly hatch on any of the rivers we fished.  Even before we started our River Ramble, we’d ventured to a couple of Montana Rivers in search of these creatures, but had never quite timed it right.  So when our good friends Sue Doss and Dud Lutton invited us to go fishing with them, on the Henry’s Fork, at the very beginning of the salmonfly hatch, we jumped at the opportunity.

Our first stop was TroutHunter Lodge and Fly Shop on the banks of the Henry’s Fork in Island Park (ID).  Sue’s dog Solomon, as usual, was greeted warmly by everyone and made his home at the front door, welcoming everyone as the came into the flyshop.

After we’d secured our Idaho fishing license, we met our guide for the day, Chris Andelin.   Chris had already picked out an assortment of bugs for us to use for the day and we were thrilled that included in the mix of bead head nymphs and Pat’s rubber legs were an assortment of salmonflies.  Game on!

Barb and I loaded into Chris’ truck and headed for our put in spot near Ashton (ID).  When we pulled into the lot, there were about 6 other guide boats in various stages of “rigging up” in the lot.  While Chris found a spot to park and began getting the boat ready for launch, Barb and I explored the bank and immediately started finding the stars of the day hanging on bushes and blades of grass everywhere.  While it was still early, we knew it was going to be a great day fishing using these giant salmonfly patterns on our lines.  Chris started Barb on a “dry/dropper” rig with a salmonfly on top and one of the nymphs below…. for me, just the salmonfly.

We started off downstream with Chris explaining various highlights about the Henry’s Fork and forewarning us to “be ready” as you never knew when a big brown or rainbow would rise to eat that big bug off the top. Every so often, Chris would pull over to the side, hop out of the boat, and literally pull us back upstream to fish a certain spot where we’d noticed a rising fish or two.  We took a few opportunities to ask Chris questions along the way (edited into the video above) about these amazing bugs, their lifecycle and fishing the Henry’s Fork hatches in general.

As we continued downstream, we’d hit into a few really nice fish, all on the Salmonfly pattern.  This caused Chris to take off the “dropper” flies from Barb’s rig and leave her with just the one salmonfly.  A moment later, my fly disappeared in a flash… I raised my rod high and what I could only surmise was a very big trout had been tricked by my fly.   Several times it took me on a ride, making runs away from the boat.  Chris’ advice was “take your time…. we want this one”.   Chris even rowed downstream and upstream chasing the trout. Barb even had to put her rod down when it made a run back in front of the boat.  When it finally showed itself to us, it was a solid 20+ inch brown trout.

As we continued downstream, a storm looked to be brewing, so, Chris parked us under the Vernon Bridge for protection.  All over the concrete wall of the bridge were salmonflies and the shucks of salmonflies.  The adult salmonflies were everywhere, on our clothing….  on Barb’s hat…. everywhere.  We tried to do a bit more interviewing of Chris, but the wind howling beneath the bridge washed out the audio (although I included some in the video above…. apologies for the sound quality) of our impromptu interview.

After the storm passed, we headed downstream picking off a fish here and there although the storm seemed to put down the number of salmonflies we saw in the air and on the water.  We reached the takeout and caught up with Sue and Dud who’d had a very productive day on the water as well.

We made it back to the restaurant at TroutHunter Lodge where anglers from around the world who come here to experience the salmonfly hatch were busy telling tales of the day’s fishing.  We did our best as well, enjoying a few cold beers and a burger before jumping in with Sue, Dud and Solomon for the drive back home to Bozeman.  And yes, we’re already planning to head back to the Henry’s Fork VERY soon for salmonflies.

Idaho is one of those states we’d heard a lot about, but had never fished prior to going on our River Ramble adventure.  We’d heard the legendary stories about two of the most technical rivers on the list, the Henry’s Fork of the Snake and Silver Creek.  Our good friend Tim Smith had for years tried to get us to come fish with him on the South Fork of the Snake.  All three of these famous trout streams are of course, in the Trout Unlimited’s Guide to America’s Top 100 Trout Streams book, so off we went to Idaho.

Our first stop took us over the high mountain pass between Montana and Idaho and into our campground in Picabo, ID.  Great little RV campsite but even better little store in town that served as the gas station, post office, store, great grill and a first rate fly shop to boot!  After setting up camp we drove to the Silver Creek Preserve to see where we’d be fishing the next day.  Scenery was gorgeous as sunset approached but as a bonus, we saw a bull moose munching on branches along the creek.

The next morning we met Carl Evenson, Silver Creek Outfitters, at the Silver Creek Preserve Visitors Center, got wadered up and headed down to fish Silver Creek.  Silver Creek is a meandering spring creek that is gin clear and you have to use your stealth powers to get near big fish;  they spook and run at the slightest sound or shadow on the water.  We saw some massive fish but were only able to land a few small browns and a beautiful rainbow during our day with Carl.  We did however stumble upon that bull moose again by accident.  We all jumped when we noticed him just lying on the bank about 20’ from a 2 foot brown trout lazily feeding near the same bank.   Overall, we got a “Silver Creek Schooling“.

It wasn’t only fishing that made our time on Silver Creek special.  We took a day to visit Craters of the Moon National Park.  It was spectacular and eerie at the same time.  If you’re ever passing through this area, this is a must see.  We also made a stop in the little town of Arco which has the distinction of being the first US city lit entirely by nuclear energy.   Dinner one evening in nearby Ketchum, a bustling ski town in winter and outdoor enthusiasts mecca in summer, took us to Sawtooth Brewery for some burgers and brews.

After fishing Silver Creek, we made it to the famed Henry’s Fork of the Snake River and Island Park, ID, which boasts the “longest main street” in America.  To try and paint a picture with words of what that means, imagine about 17 miles of road (US 26) running through tall evergreens and at every point along the road a feeder road comes in, leading to fishable water.  A few times when these feeder roads come in, you’ll find a gas station, and finally at one point a few gas stations and even more fly shops appear at the infamous Harriman Ranch section of the river.  One of the most famed of those fly shops is TroutHunter.

We had the pleasure of meeting up with TJ Powell, a guide for TroutHunter, and fishing the Henry’s Fork below the falls.  TJ put us on fish with great regularity and we had an awesome float.  Later, we joined our good friends, Sue Doss and Dud Lutton for dinner at the TroutHunter Lodge and then fished the river just below the dam with their dog, Solomon.  We had a blast and we can’t wait to go back again to fish with “Trouthunter TJ Powell“.

Finally, our trip took us to see Tim and fish the South Fork of the Snake.  Tim’s description of the fishery and his persistence in getting us to come fish it were spot on!  We’d driven the road that parallels the river many times before but had never gone down to the river.  When we put in with Tim and started downstream, this whole incredible vista was revealed…. beautiful bluffs, soaring eagles, runs and pools full of cutthroat trout and even this small little backwater area that was like walking into a room with air conditioning.  We had the most amazing day fishing with Tim on the “SF Snake” and will be coming back soon to fish it again.  If you’re in this area to fish, be sure to stop by the Lodge at Palisades Creek and say “hi”.

The three streams were all amazing and deserving of being in the TU Top 100 book.  However, we heard a lot of rumblings about the Teton River so we’re sure to follow up there as well on our next trip back to Idyllic Idaho.

For years, we’d heard from our son-in-law, Chris Drake, of the difficulty in fishing the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River near Island Park, ID.   How the fish all had Ph.D.’s and were easily spooked.  How perfect presentations and drifts were essential to catching fish.  Well, we saw these clear, flat waters outside the TroutHunter fly shop in Island Park, ID, but decided our best bet fishing was in sections where there was a little more current and structure that would lend itself to having better luck.

We’d also heard about the local charm of Island Park, ID.   According to wikipedia, “the city was incorporated by owners of the many lodges and resorts along U.S. Route 20 in 1947, primarily to circumvent Idaho’s liquor laws that prohibited the sale of liquor outside of city limits.  It is only 500 feet wide in most locations and, at 33 miles (53 km), claims to have the longest “Main Street” in the world.”  TroutHunter’s fly shop, lodge and restaurant/bar are one of the highlights along the route.  We were fortunate to have booked our guide from the shop and to have met friends for dinner at the restaurant/bar. More on that in another post!

We met our guide, TJ Powell, at the TroutHunter fly shop on a cold, crisp October morning and headed off for a section of the river nearer Aston, ID.  When we put in, we knew it was going to be a  great day because we immediately came upon fish.  They weren’t the giants that inhabited the Railyard section of the Henry’s Fork, but beautiful wild trout that fought like crazy.

We had a blast fishing with TJ and hope you enjoy his “Guide Talk” video about fishing on the Henry’s Fork.