Trip to Henry's Fork Area

[jabink84]

What ever you decide, make sure the Teton stays on the list of places you will fish. You will not regret it. THe south fork will fish well, but floating the Teton from the bitch creek slide down will be an experience you will enjoy.

The canyon section of the teton host some of the best hopper fishing you can find in august and sept.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Warren -

I don't want to rain on your parade, but I believe you should take a close look at the river conditions in the west this year, if you have not already done so, and particularly as you get closer in time to your departure date.

I can't speak for the Henry's and South Fork, but I live on the Yellowstone during the summer, where I am right now, and I think it is likely there will be little to no water flow here by August, and a good chance that there will be "hoot owl" fishing restrictions on the Yellowstone, and other area rivers, then, which close them down during the afternoon due to high water temperatures.

Many of our Montana area river flows are presently just half of the normal flow for this time of the year due to an abnormally low snowpack, and warm weather. There are already a number of fires burning in the northwest US and Canada, our air here is smoke filled, and we really haven't even begun the typical year's fire season.

Late August is normally one of the most difficult times for fishing here during the best of times, in my opinion, and I'll include the Henry's Fork, South Fork, Missouri, and other area rivers, all of which I have fished many times when I say that. However, this year is not shaping up to be one of the best of times.

I would suggest you might want have some flexibility in your plans, and not get too locked into specific rivers and locations this far in advance. There might be some fishing opportunities on some, but not all, of the rivers you mentioned come late August.

Good luck.

John

 

[jabink84]

upper henrys fork is doing well. Lower henrys fork where i fish is lower than it has ever been in the 5 years i have lived here. Teton is higher than normal. Its been hot, and once you get off the mountains and into the farmland the farmers are taking the water FAST and lots of it.

 

[Chaz]

I fished it for the first time last year and had very good fishing. There are some braided sections, that all hold fish, but you really want to fish the main current. I caught more than 5 fish. They were all on BWO patterns from the Fly Shop, Trout Hunter.
I did not like the section immediately below the highway though it was featureless flat water.

 

[Acristickid]

During the green drakes , I caught several ranch tanks (rainbows). Fought hard with several runs and jumps. Memorable day.


]ranch pool [/url]]ranch tank [/url]

 

[Acristickid]

]South Fork of the Snake [/url]]snake[/url]

 

[Warren]

jabink84,
Yes, we will be floating the Teton.
Thanks for your advice. I have written down Bitch Creek Slide and will mention that float specifically to the guide when we arrive out there.
Thanks,
Warren

 

[Warren]

mt-flyfisher,
I guess the entire west is suffering from no snow last winter. We have seen restrictions on the Madison a couple of years ago. There was no fishing below Ennis after 2:00pm.

We have always booked through the River's Edge in Bozeman w/ Guide Zack Neville. Over the winter he got his outfitter's license so we have two days on the Yellowstone with him following the Henry's Fork package. If the Yellowstone is down near Livingston, maybe he will take us back up in the canyon near the Devil's Slide again. We thought that it was beautiful up there.

Then we are driving north to Craig and floating the Missouri one day with Dave Bloom outfitters. I met Dave several years ago. He is a great guide.

So with all this additional information you can see the value of your post. Thanks for passing the conditions along. We will be keeping an eye out to see how things develop.

Last year when they showed all the fires on the news; there was not enough room on the screen for all the fire icons. They had them piled on top of each other. The smoke bums the locals out big time. It really didn't bother me. I was too busy keeping my back cast up in all the wind.
Thanks for taking the time to post such relative information.
Warren

 

[Warren]

Chaz,
I am excited about going out there. We fish a lot and are going to go into the sponge mode and just absorb all we can. The main channel with plenty of current will provide food and probably depth for cover. Makes sense to me.
Thanks,
Warren

 

[Warren]

acristickid,
Thanks for posting the beautiful pictures.
Warren

 

[troutbert]

aristicid,

Is that a spring coming out of the side of a hill in that photo? Where is that located?

 

[Acristickid]

It's is an aptly named creek called Falls creek. Just above where it cascaded over it sure looked like a spring creek that flows through a valley for a good distance but not sure if it was a true spring creek or not. It enters the Snake on the west side a mile or so above where rt 26 crosses the snake. That's the main road.

I was very tempted to drive up it but was tired and was headed to the meadow stretch of the Teton River for the following day.

 

[dryflyguy]

A-kid -

I fished a spot on the south fork where a beautiful waterfall cascaded down off the mountain side, and directly into the river. I'm wondering if that's the same stream.
It's a pretty well know spot - I've seen pictures of it in several magazines since I fished there, 15 years ago now

 

[Acristickid]

I'm sure that is the spot. There is a gravel road that goes along the river that you can access from the rt 26 bridge that goes along the river all the way up to the dam. The braids looked awfully good which are near the waterfall also- lots of boats anchored up. It was blowing over 12,000 cfs while I was there. Have to hit it again later in the year.

 

[Acristickid]

]Teton River - above the canyon[/url]

]teton[/url]

 

[Acristickid]

Warren- not trying to take over your post but I have had no TV for 2 months and I get pretty bored. Hopefully the pics will get you fired up

 

[Warren]

acristickis,
I am getting excited. There sure is a lot of great looking water around there. We will be floating the Teton and South Fork for sure. Also we will either be wading or floating the Ranch water. So, we only have one day that is undecided. The package includes a day on the Madison, but I was looking on USGS Water Data site last evening and levels are dropping fast in that area. By late August they will be restricting fishing to 20 minutes a day from 4:00am till 4:20am LOL.

Hey, if worse comes to worse, we will float the same water twice. But we will not be the only people who will be trying to fish; surely they will have something figured out. Our goal is to have a reasonably successful adventure. The shop's goal is to bring you back again next year. So, they have to solve the puzzle.

We almost always hire a guide to fish new water the first time and we have found that the best trips begin with honesty about what you are hoping for and then just follow the instructions. Don't question the guide, even if you're thinking "This can't be right!", just keep your mouth shut and do the best you can at whatever you are being asked to do. The guide is trying to earn his wage. They are not magicians.

Thanks for posting the great Teton pictures. They made my casting arm start twitching. LOL
Warren

 

[pete41]

for years as a former Montanan I have been suggesting the dog days of summer are truly the same out there as anywhere so go in Sept. when the west comes alive as it gets ready to settle in for another winter.. take the guides and shops advice that summer is great with a grain of salt.Mid sept. to mid oct..Every thing is a little more exciting during "Native American summer". Loses something there.lol