I had the opportunity to fish the lower section of the Henry’s Fork at the confluence with the Fall River in mid-July.
Most anglers and guides start their float trip further upstream and reach the area I was fishing later in the afternoon.
My fishing partner that day was Tom Jindra who is past president of the now titled Fly Fishers International. We chose to launch from the take-out at Chester Dam around 9 am and rowed upstream above the confluence of the Henry’s and Fall River. This requires about 30 minutes of upstream rowing but the current is manageable.
The day was sunny, warm, and with a mild downstream wind. We were using 4 and
5 weight rods. I prefer a Rene Harrop 14 ft 5x leader but will add 2 ft more of 5x tippet if trailing with a spinner. I find the Harrop leader turns over nicely. Tom went with a standard
9ft 5x leader. These fish are smart and spooky and require casting from a sitting position in the boat.
We waited about 30-45 minutes before we had a prolific PMD hatch and the fish started rising A few Green Drakes were also present. Fish were caught with PMD dun and spinner patterns. Over the next few hours we hooked up around 20 rising fish with an overall average size of about 16 inches. The biggest was a 20+ inch Brown. All casts were to specific feeding fish. Fishing lasted about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Rowing upstream from the take-out gave us this portion of the river to ourselves. We were off the river in time for a late lunch in Ashton.
Speaking of lunch a trip to the Henry’s is not complete unless you stop at the FROSTOP drive-in for a burger and malt (Butterfinger is my go-to choice).
Doc Frangos, MCI
FFI Master Casting Instructor
