Historic Railroad Ranch Slideshow

A collection of black and white photographs documenting some of the history and happenings of this special place prior to it becoming a park. Stringers, hunting trips, scenic shots, and portraits of ranch life are all included in this slideshow that dates back nearly a century.




All photos are courtesy of Harriman State Park of Idaho archives and may not be copied, reprinted or otherwise used without express permission. Enjoy !
(You can click photos to view in a larger window)

Be on the lookout...

Some Tricos as well as a strong caddis hatch this morning at Osborne Bridge. Also noticed this large plume of smoke to the West, on the far side of Thurmon Ridge. Photo was taken at around 1 pm this afternoon from the parking lot at Osborne. So far not sure what the cause of this fire is - watch for smoke to come into the caldera depending on wind direction. So far there is no threat to Harriman State Park, or the Henry's Fork, but will post more as it becomes available.

Mid Summer Slideshow

Mid Summer Post

A collection of photos - both scenery and fishing action - from the past several weeks in Harriman State Park

Ranch Update

Despite a return to lower flows (currently 1040 cfs from Island Park Dam), better water quality and cloud cover providing for improved fishing over the past couple of days, things have remained fairly quite here in Harriman State Park. Perhaps fishing pressure will pick up again over the weekend. Yesterday morning the water below Millionaire's Pool was filled with rising trout and no anglers in sight - there were however callabaetis spinners and honey ants.

See you on the river!

Higher Flows and Turbidity in the Caldera

As recent posts have noted, the past several days have brought higher water, some rain and decreased water clarity to the section of the Henry's Fork downstream of Island Park Dam. Water clarity and sediment content started to change in the afternoon last Thursday, 8/7, which coincided with greater discharge from the dam. Since the beginning of the month flows have come up from an average of 960 cfs - the maximum that can be used for hydropower generation - to a maximum of almost 1500 cfs yesterday.

With the increased flows the fishing quality has declined recently, as has the amount of use the river is getting. This has been due in part to the sediment that appears to be entering the river through Island Park Dam. Water managers are in the process of lowering the flows back down to address this issue.

The picture was taken yesterday afternoon from the top of the dam looking downstream - notice the difference in water clarity on river left and river right. Also, you can check current flows by flowing the link to the USGS gaging station site in the sidebar.

More Rain

The rain continued, and with it came more suspended particles in the water. Today It was hard to see the bottom in most places, which seemed to scare away the anglers. Flows were also much higher than usual at around 1500 cfs. Two pelicans were left as sentries at the log jam after yesterday's take over.

Day after the Rain

Last nights rain left the river a little cloudy from the extra runoff. There was a decent trico hatch this morning with a spinner fall, but the trout just weren't taking them. Slow fishing day, bright sun, and a pelican takeover of the logjam.