31 August 2018

Henry's Fork - part 3

The next morning my drone took off near Osborne Bridge at around 6:30 AM to take some nice footages of the Henry's Fork at sunrise. After the shooting I drove to Wood Road 16 to fish the morning. The stretch at Wood Road 16 was recommended by Eric, a forum member at Classic fly rod forum.



The 'entrance' of the Wood Road 16 stretch




















Nice and calm morning




























Caught about a dozen rainbows, mainly in the 8-12 inch range until around noon. Insects (PMDs and small caddis) started to move around at 9 AM. Rusty spinners and small PMD cripples seemed to work best for me.















































I went back to my lodge around 12:30 PM and wanted to try the banks along the lodge with hoppers and beetles. I wasn't getting the response I was hoping for. The heat was in full swing and the temperature of the water near the bank was probably already too high for the fish.










































































After about an hour I packed up and decided to check out the upper faster stretches of the Henry's Fork at Box Canyon to see if fish were more eager to take a fly during the heat of the afternoon.

The outlet of the Island Park Reservoir
























Henry's Fork is pretty swift here at Box Canynon stretch




























A steep path down to the river at the Box Canyon camping ground







































































The stretch near the camping ground another fisherman had the same idea about fishing during the heat. This stretch at Box Canyon fishing along the banks is not an easy task with the higher banks against the hill. My friends are about to arrive in Island Park in less than 45 minutes and I was starting to feel hungry. At around 4 PM I went to the Trout Hunter Bar to get some lunch while waiting for my friend Dan and his brother Doug. They decided to drive down from Bozeman and fish the Henry's Fork this weekend.

Coincidently I also ran into a familiar face sitting at the table next to me. Masa Katsumata, a famous Japanese fly fishermen. I have been a fan of him ever since I watched his DVDs about the Henry’s Fork many years ago. These three DVDs shows his love for the Henry's Fork, his friendship with René Harrop and the flies tied by the House of Harrop.




























After a drink at the Bar Dan and I drove to the Last Chance stretch to meet up with his brother Doug and fish the evening together. As we were gearing up the heat was already gone. It even felt a bit chilly!

As we walked the banks we could see darker clouds appear in the distance. As we looked over the river to see if there are any fish activity the dark clouds were rapidly approaching us. Wind started to pick up and at around 8 PM it was apparent there won't be any fishing this evening. As several other fishermen were leaving the river, we walked back the the parking lot.















































































Well, this Henry's Fork virus is surely one that grabs you and don't let go. I'll try it again next time. Maybe I should fish a few days longer than the two days I planned.


Update June 18, 2020:
Henry's Fork is not a river where you start catching fish by covering the water with random casts to promising spots. Henry's Fork legend Mike Lawson explains how to fish the Henry's Fork.



Next stage: back to Livingston to fish with Dusty & Colt!


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Henry's Fork - part 2

It was almost 3 PM when I was done with lunch. I decided to wait for the evening hatch and headed to the Harriman State Park (also known as the Railroad Ranch) and have a look at the historic site.

The history behind this summer retreat (starting as early as in 1902), working ranch and wild life sanctuary preserved by the Harriman family till gifted to the state of Idaho in 1977 is very interesting. The gift was done under the condition that the park stays open for public and future generations to come as a natural area and wild life refuge. It must have been amazing back then to spend the summers here, inviting fiends to enjoy and fish the, now famous, part of the Railroad Ranch stretch of the Henry's Fork (named after the fur trapper Andrew Henry who passed through this area in 1810).





The famous view at the Millionaire's Pool



The dozen or so cabins of the Harriman heritage are still here



The interiors are still left as they were used by the Harriman family and their guests


Maintenance on the buildings




The house the Harriman family themselves




This cute little squirrel came running towards me






While walking through the Railroad Ranch, I remembered I had an appointment with Nelson Ishiyama, the owner of the Henry's Fork Lodge, and a bamboo fly rod enthusiast around 5:30 PM at his lodge. We had a nice talk together at the porch of his lodge and talked about bamboo fly rods, the fishing on the Henry's Fork and fly fishing in general. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of us together!...


View of the Henry's Fork from the porch




























I said goodbye to Nelson around 6:30 PM and headed back the my lodge to get my fishing gear. I headed to the Last Chance stretch. The heat of the afternoon was almost gone and it started to cool down.

Around 7 PM. Waiting for the evening activity...
There are caddis flying around but not much on the water...
Around 8 PM, still haven't seen much...
I packed my gear around 9:30 PM. No activity at all!































































































Well, the first day at the Henry's Fork was quite an interesting day. I will get up early to capture some drone footages of the sunrise at the Osborne bridge stretch before heading to the stretch at Wood Road 16. This stretch was recommended by a friend who is recovering from illness. Get well Eric!

Go to part 3 of the Henry's Fork!



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Henry's Fork - part 1

I arrived at Island Park around 11:30 AM. The weather looks amazing and looks like it will be another hot day! After checking in at the Anglers Lodge I went out to check out the two big names of fly fishing on the Henry's Fork: Henry's Fork Angler and Trout Hunter Lodge.









Mike Lawson's fly shop is the most amazing fly shop I've seen so far. After selling the fly shop to the current owner Mark Rockefeller in 1999, the old fly shop was replaced by this amazing cabin style building in 2006. Although not the owner anymore, Mike Lawson still works as the General Manager of the fly shop. He still seems to love what he does. By the way, I have no clue why the h*ll I didn't take a picture of us together?...





Mike helping out a customer about fishing in New Zealand


Mike signed my copy of his book




Upstairs there are many memorabilia (fly plates, pictures) of Mike's past as a fly fishing celebrity. In the 1990's Mike together with his friends Jack Dennis and Gary Lafontaine we known as the 'Traveling fly fishermen' giving lectures and tying demonstrations all over the country.



A fly plate together with his friend Jack Dennis. My love for the Humpy is solely to be blamed on Jack Dennis. I watched his videos, especially 'Tying Western Trout Flies' countless times back in the late 1980's.









René Harrop is another legendary name of the Henry's Fork. Started as (and still is) a fly tying family business, Harrop started with two friends Trout Hunter fly shop in the early 1990's to move and expand later on the banks of the Henry's Fork to what is now known as the Trout Hunter Lodge. The Trout hunter lodge consist of a (relatively) small fly shop, a bar and a lodge.





After looking around both fly shops and buying a few flies, it was time for some lunch. What better place than to sit on the banks of the Henry's Fork at Trout Hunter's the A-Bar and order a juicy burger and enjoy the view?





Continue with part 2 of the Henry's Fork!


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