Blog

2008

Fall Foliage and Big Cutthroat
October 28, 2008
The sun was bright and the air was crisp as we hooked the 16' crestliner fishing machine to the trailer hitch.

Yes sir......another beautiful fall day in Idaho.

We loaded too many rods and even more reels lined with fly lines for every depth. Why do we do that when we end up fishing the same lines most of the time anyway?
 
Whatever.Back to the story.

We're cruising down the highway with hot coffee, a can of tobacco, and hopes for a big fish. Besides a pile ful of cash, we have everything we need.

Dropping in and stripping leeches was exactly what I was looking for. Centennial Mountains in the backround, and beautiful cutthroat, hybrids, and brook trout in the foreground.

40-80' casts 3-10 second pause with little slack in the line, and slow strips...........tight...strip......tighter......strip again......yup, therrrrrrrre eeeeee is. That's Henry's Lake when the bite is on.

-Jake Chutz

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It's a Family Affair
October 16, 2008
Okay, so I apologize for the lack of an update for a couple months, but you try running 70-something trips to date in your first year of guiding full time and see if your fingers want to type at the end of the day. Between rowing and tying and UNTYING knots, I’ll seriously wager a bet that after about trip 20, when the end of the day rolls around and you find yourself back at your cabin, you’ll be thinking about nothing but dinner and bed, and not necessarily in that order.       
 
Anyway, as I wind up my first full season guiding clients for TroutHunter (I didn’t have enough at-bats to have last season qualify as my rookie year), there are a few things that have become apparent to me. Among them is that when I meet people in the shop in the morning, inevitably there are some questions from clients that seem to overlap from trip to trip. How did you get to TroutHunter from Connecticut? So, you’re a lawyer!? How long have you been doing this (which is typically asked in a tone that implies the actual thought behind the question, something more like ‘are you any good at this’)? Are the fish on the Henry’s Fork really that hard to catch? Did you have a beard when you practiced law? Are you and Brad Miller related? How long have you been fly fishing? And ultimately, how did you get started fly fishing? 
 
That last question, ‘how did you get started fly fishing’, always sparks an interesting conversation with whomever I’m speaking. For me, it was my Uncle Tim who first took me fishing at an early age. We would fish the Salmon River in Colchester, Connecticut, mostly a put-and-take fishery for small hatchery trout, with small ultralight spinning outfits, sometimes with bait, and sometimes with small lures. To get to “our spot,” we had to drive past the area designated as fly fishing only. I saw the fishermen wading and casting fly rods and asked my Uncle if we could try that. He explained that when I learned how to read the water and present my bait the right way, I would have the right foundation to learn how to fly fish. Unfortunately, as my Uncle’s knees worsened, his time on the water lessened. But he has always encouraged the fishing/outdoor obsession he saw developing in me, and at age 11, bought me an L.L. Bean fly tying kit for Christmas (as I look back now, that was officially the event that created the fly fishing monster that I am today, but that’s an entirely different blog). 

So with my ridiculously overdressed and hideous looking new flies hot off my new vice, I now needed a ride to the river. In stepped mom, ever ready with the mom-taxi. She would pick me up at school, drive me to the river for a couple hours before dinner, and sit in the car and read while I either fished or watched the old-timers fish and tried to pick up pointers. And so began my obsession with trout and all things fly fishing.
I have found that my story is a somewhat typical answer to the question ‘how did you get started fly fishing’ in that it deeply involves family. For me it was my Uncle first, and then my mom. And while my dad’s idea of fishing is more akin to diamond jigging the bottom of Long Island Sound for Bluefish, for many others, it is often their father who first took them fly fishing. Such was the case for recent TroutHunter clients, Doug and Mack Ober. Mack is about to enter his senior year in high school and is getting ready for another nationally ranked lacrosse season. Doug took the opportunity before Mack’s busy season to simply spend some quality time with his son fishing on the Henry’s Fork, and checking out a couple colleges on the way home. 

On this day two of five that the Obers spent with TroutHunter, we set out to float the section of the Henry’s Fork known as Warm River to Ashton, a very picturesque, approximately seven mile float ending up at the Ashton Reservoir. Taking advantage of the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, we started the day with a quick stop to the largest waterfall on the Henry’s Fork and the natural barrier for brown trout on the Henry’s Fork by visiting Upper and Lower Mesa Falls. Then we proceeded to check on Marty’s dog-food-fed fish on the Warm River just for fun. And finally, on to the put-in just below the Stone Bridge on the Henry’s Fork. 

We decided to forego the typical nymph rigs to start this day, and opted for a shot at some larger brown trout by throwing streamers. Probably due to his familiarity with throwing a lax ball to mid-field from the goalie box, Mack took to casting a streamer with relative ease, and was quick to tie into fish. And he did so often, catching a few nice rainbows, and capping the day off with a nice brown that measured out at 19.5 inches.

Meanwhile, dear old Dad was working his streamer quite well through some excellent water with a mere spattering of results. Doug had several fish chase and roll on his streamer, but at the 6-mile mark of our float, only had a couple of fish to the net, and none to the size of several of Mack’s fish. Most of the day for Doug was spent fishing vicariously through his son, and to see the enjoyment on Mack’s face was clearly enough to satisfy Doug.

However, with less than one mile to go, as Doug retrieved his streamer, the water exploded near the boat and when I looked over my shoulder, Doug was tight to the largest brown trout I’ve seen in that section of the river this season. After a solid fight from a fish that tried, but was just too fat to jump, a beautiful 23 inch brown came to my net. And with her, time-honored traditions and valuable fishing lessons continued to be taught from father to son. This time the lesson was two-fold; don’t ever give up (six miles is a LONG time to strip streamers), and of course, quality beats quantity. Congratulations Doug on a great fish and thanks for sticking with the streamer program and not quitting! Big fish really do eat big flies, as Doug’s 23 inch beauty can attest.

Thanks to the Obers also for allowing me to be a part of a father/son memory that is sure to last for quite some time.  

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Rick's October12 Report
October 12, 2008
Box Canyon: The "Box" continues to fish well with streamers and small (size 16 to 20) beadhead nymphs. Presently the flows are at 220 cfs which is great for wading or those individuals with pontoon boats but it's a little skinny for drift boats.

Last Chance/Railroad Ranch: Fishing has been very good with baetis, mahogany and midge imitations. Look for midging fish early and late. The best baetis and mahogany activity has been from about two to six. With the low flows of Fall comes the absolute necessity of stealthy approches, long (13 to 18 foot) leaders, acurate presentations made with the minimum of false casts and exact fly pattern selection. Some of the more productive places on this section of the river have been the Last Chance area, the water just above and below the Log Jam, Millionaire's Pool, Piney Point and the Wood Road. The fall baetis run small so make sure you have flies in size #22.

Warm River to Ashton: Streamers, nymphs and dry flies are all still producing fish down on this section of the Henry's Fork. The larger fish are being taken on streamers but the numbers are coming on small rubber leg and beadhead nymphs dead drifted below an indicator. There has also been some nice dry fly activity on various adult baetis imitations. Note: As of the end of September theWarm River itself is closed to fishing from its mouth upstream to the railroad tunnel.

Ashton to Saint Anthony: Fishing on this section of the river has been good with streamers and nymphs. The dry fly fishing has been spotty at best but should improve now that we are well into the month.

Henry's Lake: The fishing on Henry's continues to be very good. It has slowed down a little over the past week but it is still producing some nice action around Staley Springs, the hatchery area, the Cliffs and the county boat dock. We have been having our best luck on some of Rohmer's leech patterns.

Other area waters: Madison River, Montana: There has been some excellent action around the Slide Inn/Three Dollar Bridge area with streamers, small beadhead nymphs and small baetis imitations.


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Rick's September 21 Report
September 21, 2008

Box Canyon: Fishing in the "Box" continues to be productive with small beadhead nymphs and streamers. There is alot of moss and flotsom in the water so be prepared to spend some time cleaning off your rig during the day. A few of our favorite beadhead nymphs are red and black Krystal Zebra Midges, Pearl Crystal Pheasant Tails, red Copper John's, Red Headed Step-Childs and standard Pheasant Tails. A few of our favorite streamers are Sculpzillas, Sheila Sculpins, CH Double Bunnies and olive Big Gulp Sculpins.

Last Chance/Railroad Ranch: This section of the river has fished well with baetis, tricos, mahoganies and, on warm and bright sunny days, small (size 20) black ants. Some of the more productive areas on this stretch of the river include the area around the Log Jam, Millionaire's Pool, the Osborne Bridge area, Piney Point and the Wood Road. It's hard to beat any of the patterns that Rene has developed to imitate any of the afore mentioned insects. I might suggest you try his captive dun in BWO or Mahogany during these hatches. This is not a pattern that alot of anglers try but it has proven to be a very effective pattern for me when fishing over difficult fish (like all "Ranch" fish are).

Riverside to Warm River: As I have always repoted, this is a great section of river to escape to for some solitude and fun fishing. The fishing is uncomplicated and straight forward no matter what type of fishing you like to do. Dry fly, nymph and streamer techniques all produce fish here. The added bonus at this time of year is the spectacular fall colors. Reds, yellows and oranges captivate your senses at every glance. One word of advice at this time of year on this section of the river: BE BEAR AWARE!!!

Warm River to Ashton: This section of the river continues to surprise everyone. Starting with the salmon fly hatch and continuing through today this part of the river has produced consistent excellent fishing. Streamers, dry flies and nymphs are all producing excellent results. Lately the biggest fish have been caught on streamers but there have been some very fine fish taken on hoppers over the past month. Over the years fishermen have considered this section of river to be a nice place to fish for good numbers of fish but not very large fish. In years past a 14 or 15 inch fish was considered to be a real prize here. However, this year we have seen very good numbers of 16 to 20 inch fish caught on this section of the river. If you have not had an opportunity to fish here this year do yourself a favor and give it a try before the season is over.

Ashton to Saint Anthony: This section of the river has been a little slow to develope. There has been some baetis activity producing a little dry fly action for the guys who like to fish on top. The best fishing has been with nymphs and streamers especially from the Ashton Dam down to the Ora bridge. Look for this section of the river to get better as we get closer to October.

Henry's Lake: Fishing on Henry's has been very good to excellent over the past couple of weeks. All in all this has been a very good year for the lake after several slow seasons.

Madison River:  The flows are still high as PP&L has not been able to repair the dam at Hebgen. It appears that significant flow reduction is not in sight as stoplogs will not stay in the opening, indicating possible damage to the vertical channels designed to hold them. That being said, the river is fishing well.  Trout are rising along the bank to BWOs, caddis & terrestrials.  Nymphs and streamers have been producing some good fish.

Don't miss the Idaho premiere of the movie DRIFT on Friday, September 26th!

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Blog Archive
Stream Flows
  • HENRY'S FORK below I.P. Reservoir
  • Flow (cfs): 531
  • HENRY'S FORK below Ashton Dam
  • Flow (cfs): Ice
  • HENRY'S FORK at St. Anthony
  • Flow (cfs): Ice
  • FALLS RIVER NEAR Chester
  • Flow (cfs): Ice
  • MADISON below Hebgen Lake
  • Flow (cfs): 1150
    Temperature (°F): 36.5
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