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Anglers that came to the Henry’s Fork over the past ten days or so were able to find excellent fishing if they were flexible and willing to move around a bit. Warm River to Ashton section was exceptional a week ago. The salmon flies were out in good numbers and the fish were on them. The water was running a little higher than normal and it was off color but that didn’t put the fish off at all. Most of the fish were taken on big ugly nymphs and a few took adult imitations. As the hatch moved upstream the few hearty souls that ventured into the Cardiac Canyon section, either by boat or foot, enjoyed several days of great fishing on both nymphs and dries. About the time the big bugs had moved into the Riverside to Hatchery Ford section of the river the weather changed and pretty much put the hatch on hold. This was the time to be in the Box Canyon where fishing was good with big rubber leg nymphs and streamers. All during this same time frame Henry’s Lake was ridiculously good with our guides reporting 10-30 fish per angler days.

On a personal note, my wife and I were treated to a float on the river two days ago. Marty Reed was our host/guide for the day. An early season float with Marty has become a yearly event for us and we look forward to it all winter long. I approached this day with some trepidation because last year's float with Marty was off the map and would be hard to repeat. I had one of the best days of salmon fly fishing I had ever experienced in my life and I just didn’t want to get my expectations too high so that somehow I would be disappointed at the end of our day. I was also a little worried that Marty may have spent all of his “mojo” over the previous week or ten days. In the vernacular of the guides, Marty had been "on fire". He had put his clients into so many fish, and big fish to boot, that I was afraid that the trout gods might be ready to put a hurt on Marty and bring him back to reality. No biggie! A day on the river with Marty is a kick in the head regardless. The first half of the day started out pretty much as I had feared. I could tell that even Marty was starting to get a little edgy and my wife was beginning to push. I quickly figured another cold can of red and white would take off the edge and we could all loosen up a bit and shake that monkey of last year off our back. Well, I’m not going to give the credit to the red and white for knocking that monkey to hell and back. It was Marty’s great guiding instincts that turned the latter half of the day into a slug fest with several of the biggest rainbow trout I have encountered anywhere. I have spent the last 33 years of my life in the fly fishing industry and I have met, known, or worked with or for some of the most respected and best fishing guides in the country. Let me tell you that Marty ranks right up there with the very best for reasons that are to numerous to mention. We have some great guides here at TroutHunter but, If you have never been on a guided trip or you are a seasoned veteran looking to broaden you experiences , do yourself a favor and see if we can arrange a day with Marty, you will never regret it. As for the rest rest of our guides, I have heard great second hand reports from plenty of clients.  They might consider taking me fishing once in a while so that I may speak personally to their skills as well (hint, hint)...