Friday's Fishing report

I fished Henrys Lake on Friday and had fairly good luck.  The weather was calm and mostly clear in the early morning with elk dotting the meadows west of the lake.

I first fished the A-Frame Bay and only got one small cutthroat before I moved on the Duck Creek.  In seven feet of water I landed a 19 inch cutthroat and a 19 inch brook trout.  Both were taken on a Beadhead Electric Black.

 

I then decided to try the deep part of the lake as a slight breezy made drift-fishing about right.  In the Wild Rose Hybrid Hole in 20 feet of water, I started getting hits and a few fish.  I landed four cutts and another large brook trout.  Most of them were taken on a Canadian Red Leech with red tinsel in the black tail.

 

I heard reports of bait fishermen doing well along the Cliffs and also catching some large hybrids there.  I will have to try it in the next week to see what happens.  The lake is still too cold to cause the fish to school up much.

 

 

Henrys Lake opener

Yesterday (May 23) was the opening day for Henrys Lake.  The wind won most of the battles as very few fishermen fished past 9 a.m.  Before the wind came up hard, fishing was pretty good.  I had good luck in the A-Frame Bay in seven feet of water and at Timber Creek in 5 to 7 feet of water.  But after the wind came up, I had a tough time catching fish.

All my fish were taken on a Beadhead Electric Black leech.  I caught one nice brook trout and ten cutthroats between 13 to 19 inches. 

I will fish it again on Wednesday or Friday of next week and hopefully the weather will be better.  But the fishing is usually better in the early morning on most day.

Good luck.

Henrys Lake update

Spent two days at the Idaho Falls Fly Fishing Expo and had a lot of fun meeting old and new friends.  I was able to demonstrate my system of tying flies and also did a program on Henrys Lake and fishing there.

By the way, Mike from the Drift Lodge showed me a picture of the ice on Henrys and it is about gone.  I will be going up there in about 10 days to deliver flies and look at the conditions.  I had several businesses contact me about delivering flies to them for the summer.  That means I will be tying flies to catch up again.

For those of you who want to order flies or my book, contact me and I will get them to you before the opening day.

The spawning has ended on Henrys Lake and was one of the best run in recent years.

Brook Trout on Henrys Lake

Two of my sons-in-law and my grandson joined me for a great day on Henrys Lake.  We caught one hybrid, seven cutthroats and 15 brook trout for a great day.  Most of the fish were taken in 20 feet of water on a #4 Light Olive and Black Woolly Bugger.

Here a son-in-law shows off a large brook trout taken in the Wild Rose Hybrid Hole.

Just the first day of a three-day fishing experience.

Henrys Lake Fishing #1 - 2011

Yesterday, Friday, I took my boat to Henrys Lake to park it for the season.  Grandkids are coming tomorrow from Utah and want to fish a lot, so I had to find the fish.  I found a few fish off the County Boat Dock and Staley Springs.  I caught six in about one and a half hours.  Three were brook trout, one a hybrid and two were small cutthroats.  The brook trout are still large and will get larger.

There is plenty of snow on Sawtelle to melt and the lake is 104% full.  We will have plenty of water this year.

With at least three days of fishing next week, we should have some good reports.

Holiday fishing.

Twelve available fishing days during Christmas vacation and six days on the ice.  Mackay Reservoir treated us very well on both days there.  Took a son-in-law and a grandson there.  We caught trout and kokanee there.  We used my flasher-jig setup for kokanee.  Here Brandon lands one of the small kokanee we caught.

You can see our setup for the kokanee in the picture.  I tye the jig and tip it with a wax worm or piece of nightcrawler.  The kokanee are withing a foot of the bottom no matter what depth of water we were in.

Mud Lake was still dead and we took all the grandchildren to Roberts Pond to catch small perch.  They had a lot of fun, but nothing of any size.

Island Park Reservoir was good to me as I caught rainbows and a couple of nice kokanee there.  I used the same setup as I did for kokanee.  The area by the dam is my favorite area.

Henrys Lake for the one day season on New Year's Day was not good.  I predicted in my newspaper article that it would probably be slow and it was.  My son-in-law, Steve, and I each caught one brook trout.

Tomorrow is back to school, but what a way to spend a couple of weeks in the wilds of Idaho.

Saturday at Henrys Lake

Went ice fishing at Henrys Lake again.  Twice in two days - But then it will have to satisfy me for two months before it opens again.  On January 1st, it will open for only one day and then will close until Memorial Day weekend.

I fished with my neighbors and we caught some nice fish.  Here is Jared with a big cutthroat.  His smile is bigger than the fish.

We were fishing off the mouth of Pittsburg Creek just east of the Hatchery.  The Hatchery area was loaded with people by 10 a.m.  The best fishing is usually about 7:30 to 8 in the mornings.  Jigs tipped with a piece of nightcrawler worked best for me.

A great way to spend a morning or day in the wilds of Idaho.

Ice fishing Henrys Lake

With only five more days of open fishing on Henrys Lake, we finally made it up there.  The recent cold weather had put five inches of ice near the Hatchery and two friends and I had a great time.

Moose caught three large brook trout like this one.  We were fishing east of the Hatchery with a variety of lures and bait and caught about 30 fish between us.

Here Gary is landing a nice cutthroat.  We missed a lot of bites and a nearby fisherman lost a huge fish that we could not get up through the 8-inch hole. 

With fish like these, I am headed back up there tomorrow morning.  A great way to spend a wild but cold day in Idaho.

Fishing with Jesse

Last night my son-in-law, Jesse, decided he wanted to fish Henrys Lake this morning.  It turned out to be a great day.  After a few fish, Jesse landed the largest brook trout he has ever caught.  It was 20 1/4 inches and weighed about five pounds.  It was one of the most colorful brook I have seen this year.

It is one of those "enuf" fish.  I will in the future run my essay on "enuf" fish.  But we continued to catch fish.
here is a female brook trout Jesse caught.

But 15 of the 18 fish we caught were cutthroats between 16 to 22 inches.  All were caught on the Light Olive Crystal at Howard Creek near Henrys Lake State Park.

Great way to spend a Saturday morning in the wilds of Idaho.

Fishing heating up on Henrys Lake

I drove up to Henrys Lake to exercise the fish that wanted to lose a little weight.  Fishing was slow to start off, but I was joined by seven Common Loons just as the sun tried sneaking through the fog.

As the fog lifted this loon worked close to me, but both of us were not successful.

Even the coots were very busy, but they were after veggies not meat.

About 10, the fish started hitting the Light Olive Crystal with most of them between 18 to 22 inches.

My sixth fish was a 21 inch brook trout.  The only one of the trip.

I did not get a hybrid, but caught 14 fish by noon. 

With wind, rain, birds and fish, it was another wild day in Idaho.  I am glad that I do not stay home when the weather appears to be bad.



Hybrids at Henrys Lake

After three weeks of busy Saturdays, I finally got one off and headed to Henrys Lake for some early morning fishing.  Some fish were rising in the Staley Springs area, so I stayed there.  My first fish was a very large hybrid.

Not ten minutes later I got another hybrid, just a little smaller.  No measurements or weight - just great battles and released to fight again.

Pictures are hard to take while battling fish by yourself.  But what a joy it is to hook and wrestle them.

Four cutthroats were also caught, before I headed to help a neighbor get a load of firewood.  Just another wild day in Idaho.

Henrys Lake again

Yesterday I got some calls that businesses were running out of flies and my book, so about 4 p.m. I took some up to Ashton and Island Park.

Of course I took my fly rod and flies so I could fish for a couple of hours before it got dark.  Only caught four fish - but one was a big hybrid at Duck Creek and one was a 22 inch brook trout at Howard Creek.

It had stormed the day before and the water was still murky, so I used the Gold Glimmer fly and it was successful, but slow fishing.  Henrys Lake should really get good around Howard Creek in the next two to three weeks - if you can miss the storms and muddy water.

Fishing Report July 27,28, and 29.

Had great fishing this week.  First trip was on Tuesday, when I went to Sand Creek Ponds and fished Pond #4.  The fish were dimpling the surface and I immediately started catching rainbows from casting from shore.  I did not take my float tube as I was getting firewood also.

Anything green would work as the damsel flies were thick.  After catching 17 I headed to my truck and visited with the assistant manager of the wildlife management area.  He said float tubers were getting from 20 to 30 a day by working the shallows along the reeds.

I did catch a large rainbow over 20 inches.

Henrys Lake.

On Wednesday and Thursday I fished Henrys Lake and it was like two different trips.  Wednesday was super, but after a huge storm Wednesday night, Thursday was slow.

Wednesday I caught fish at Targhee Creek with a Canadian Blood Leech and then on a Light Olive Crystal.  I left to explore at 9:30 and caught fish near Howard Creek, Cliffs, Phils Hole, and Duck Creek. 

Duck Creek was the best that I have seen it for several years.  I got two big hybrids, many cutthroats and six brook trout.  The hot fly was the beadhead Mity Mouse and the Henrys Lake Renegade.  I gave some to a fisherman that had not caught any fish and he ended catching 14 with them.  I ended the day with 52 fish, with three of them large hybrids.

To fish Targhee Creek, fishermen are leaving camp at 4:45 a.m. to get one of the favored spots.  Here is how crowded it gets around 7 when the late fishermen arrive.  The spot you get will determine whether you catch 5 or 40 in the morning.  Everybody has their favorite area GPSed.

Targhee Creek - good fishing

When the weather gets hot so does the fishing at the mouth of Targhee Creek on Henrys Lake.  This week I fished and guided three days on the lake and had a great time.  Most of the fish we caught were brook trout from 15 to 22 inches.  Here is one of them.

Usually there are from 20 to 45 boats in a group around the mouth of the creek.

A few of the fishermen are catching a lot of fish while others are getting skunked or catching just a few.  Here are some tips to being successful there.  Start early.   Six or six-fifteen in the morning are great times to be fishing there.  You want to be in 7 to 9 feet of water, using a slow sink line like an Intermediate, Camo, Slime or a Wet Cel 1 line.  The best flies have been the Mity Mouse, Henrys Lake Renegade or a Light Olive CB.  At times a Hare's Ear or a Pheasant-tail works well.  Experment with your retrieve as two weeks ago they wanted a fast retrieve but last week they wanted a slow one.

The large cutts and a few hybrids have been hitting a little better than they were.  Here is a large cutt that hit for me.

One evening last week we did find some cutts and hybrids in nine feet of water off Duck Creek.  That could turn on this week.

Best of Luck fishing.  If you need any of those flies let me know.

Henrys Lake - Damsels are starting to hatch

I fished Henrys Lake on Friday monring with good success.  Once again I caught more brook trout than I did cutthroats.

Several of the brook trout were over 18 inches with one over 20.  The best fishing for me happened off Targhee Creek in 18 to 15 feet of water.  Garth, from Rupert, Idaho, fished close to me and had a good morning also.

When I came back to the boat launch, I saw several damsel flies hatching on the boat docks.  That means the hatch should happen this next week and we should have great fishing on the west side of the lake in the County Boat Dock and A-Frame Bay areas.  Any of the damsel patterns should work well as soon as the fish start feeding on them.  It is great timing for the July Fourth Holiday.

Best of Luck.  See you on the water; or in the bushes with my camera in hand.

Henrys Lake - Finally

I went fishing on Henrys Lake Monday and today (Wednesday) and had two great days of fishing.  Monday I went by myself looking for fish and found three pockets of them.  The water temperature is at 54 degrees, cold for the fish to bunch up, but found some scattered groups.  I never report numbers or size of fish while I am alone, but had a great time.

Today I fished with two neighbors, Josh and Jeff, and we trolled flies in water about 19 feet deep.  We caught in Hybrid Hole #1 and #2.  Here is Josh with a 20 inch brook trout.

Those holes slowed down, so we went out to the Middle Hole and the "L" Hole where the fishing got really fast and hot.  We caught a total of 30 fish, most of them small two-year old cutts, but got another 20 inch brook trout.  Here is Jeff with a nice cutthroat.

The lightning and storms drove us off the lake about 11:30 a.m.  But we had a great time chasing wild fish in the wilds of Idaho.

Henrys Lake fishing

Weather - 10  Fishermen -1.  Opening Day on Henrys Lake is a crap-shoot at best and this year the weather beat the heck out of the fishermen.  Most fishermen became campers as the rain, snow and wind kept many off the water.  Campgrounds were full, but the lake had only a few boats on it.  Bank fishermen seemed to do the best by casting lures and a few flies like the Red Naked Lady, Beadhead Electric Black and the Mity Mouse.

Monday I made it up, but did not make it on the water due to the wind.  So I did a little bank casting flies to the few fish that were next to the shore.  I did manage to catch a few.  Here a nice cutthroad is landed that fell victom to the Red Naked Lady.

On the way home, I captured this mature Bald eagle who had been feeding on a road-killed elk just east of Henrys Lake.

He should have been out fishing, but the road-kill was easier to get and closer to cover as the rain started once again.  Just another wild day in Idaho.

Spawning at Henrys Lake

Yesterday I drove to Henrys Lake and met with Damon, the manager at the Henrys Lake Hatchery.  The run this year has been outstandingly consistent.  Damon has had 3837 cutthroats and 109 hybrids run into the hatchery.  He has collected over 3 million eggs and have made all of the hybrids.  The largest fish he has seen has been hybrids in the seven pound class.

Here is a picture of Damon and his grandson holding a large male hybrid.

Damon's goal is about 5 million eggs and he plans on spawning nine more times.  He says the lake looks very good for another good season, it the water is good.

Out of the mouths of babes

Fly fishermen can be stuffy from time to time, we are always a little that way. Our way is the only way. Sometimes someone will bring us back to the real world from the purest fly fishing world.

It happened to me one early summer day form the mouth of a four-year-old granddaughter.

My daughter, son-in-law, a grandson and two granddaughters had traveled from Utah to spend a few days with us. Fishing Henrys Lake was to be a large part of this visit, but it was one of those days that the fish just would not respond to any type of fishing with flies.

We cast flies, we trolled flies, we still-fished with flies, but the fish would not pay us any heed. After four hours of nothing, Ashlee looked up at me and in an almost demanding voice said, “Grandad, I want to catch a fish!”

What is a grandfather to do with such a request like that? Dynamite seemed an option, suicide was another one or swallowing one’s fishing-with-flies-only pride was the best choice available.

Keeping my flies-only integrity intact on Henrys Lake, we left the trophy water and headed for the trailer. There in the closet we resurrected two old spinning rods, stole some fly-tying hooks from the fly tying bench, bought some sinkers, and the greatest sin a fly fisherman can do; bought some worms.

A nephew had reported that the brook trout in Warm River near Pole Bridge Campground were jumping out of the water for the bait fishermen. We called the women of the tribe to meet us at the campground with a picnic – and not to forget the marshmallows, not for fishing – for roasting.

It was amazing – the four- to eight-inch brook trout were very willing to supply Ashlee with her wish. Each child had an adult with them enjoying the action. A new son-in-law who had not had the opportunity to catch many fish in his life, also had the time of his life catching and releasing many brookies that day.

A rainstorm washed out the picnic; but a tradition had begun. We now do it every year as an extended family. Some participants are now fly-fishing nuts, but all gained a love for fishing and being together.

It is amazing how we sometimes forget how we learned to fish. Most of us who are purest fly fishermen started out with bait – too bad some of us forget our beginnings.