Winding Down on Henry's Fork

Well, another fall is drawing too quickly to a close. This is my first (and only) post. Doing angler surveys has given me the chance to meet a lot of interesting and friendly folks from all over the country and world.

If you take the time, and it is worth taking, you can still see some views of beautiful country, even if the autumn colors are fading. Those of us who are blessed to live here sure should not be ones to take it for granted.

There is still good fishing to be found but with each day the weather becomes more of a gamble, so don't put it off. Insect hatches are still happening but really sporadic, you have to really get a sense of the timing for them. You wouldn't think there were any less, looking at my windshield every evening heading back to Ashton.

People are finding respectable rainbow trout but they seem very canny this late in the season. Comes from having to outwit good anglers all summer I guess. The old hands say to be prepared to hunt and use your knowledge of behavior, just like you would with any game. And of course, hope for a healthy share of luck.

There are large numbers of whitefish moving now and have been over the past week, spawning I suppose. At any rate there are some quite large and providing some great angling. I watched one do several runs and even tail dance before being brought in. They may not be rainbow, but they are providing some great sport.

One word of caution by the way, DRIVE CAREFULLY! The big critters are starting to move around. In the past couple of weeks there have been two moose and several deer struck by traffic during the evenings and nights. Don't end a fishing trip with a large mammal in the front seat unless it is related.

Well, thanks to everyone who let me interview them this season, your cooperation will give the Henry's Fork Foundation some good information to draw from to help you keep the river healthy and improving.

Also, my thanks to all the great folks who put up with my sometimes dumb questions. I appreciate the time you took to share your knowledge and expertise, I have tried to absorb everything you told me. Yep, I confess, I am not a fly fisherman, or rather, was not a fly fisherman. You have made it look too interesting so next year you will have another newbie trying to learn the sport and, more importantly, trying to learn the etiquette of the Henry's Fork congregation.

Have a good winter, folks, the pleasure has been mine.

Bill Puckett
"The survey guy"

Electrofishing the Ranch

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) will be electrofishing the Ranch over the next couple of weeks to obtain fall population estimates.

To estimate the Ranch population, IDFG will use a "mark-release-recapture procedure" in which a sample of the fish population will be captured from the river by electrofishing from a raft. When caught, each fish will be marked (usually by clipping a fin) and then be released back into the river to mix with the remainder of the population. Later, a recapture procedure will be repeated in which the proportion of marked individuals in the second sample can be used to estimate the number in the total population. Marking runs will take place from the Log Jam downstream to Osborne bridge today and tomorrow (October 6th & 7th) and the recapture run will occur next week (October 15th and 16th).

These estimates will be compared to those obtained in the spring to see how fish hold in the Ranch later in the season when macrophytes have become well established.

Outlet Repairs at IP Dam

Over the next few days, flows out of the Island Park Dam will be ramping down to the 350-400 cfs range (through the powerhouse) to allow FMID (Fremont Madison Irrigation District) into the old outlet tunnel to make repairs. The repairs should last no longer than a week, and flows will remain in the 350-400 cfs range this point forward for the next month to 6 weeks. Flows will likely be cut back again in November to store water for later winter releases to benefit the wild trout fishery.

Appealing to All

By Anne Marie Emery Miller

The sights and sounds of Harriman state park appealed to an array of interest groups yesterday, reminding us of the recreational opportunities "the ranch" has in lieu of the world renowned fishing.
A cow moose enjoying a breakfast of plentiful macrophytes above the log jam in Last Chance created quite the scene in the morning as local commuters and Yellowstone visitors pulled off the road to take photos. Anglers awaiting a mid-morning hatch were seen on the banks with smiles on their faces, not minding the momentary interruption to their solitude. The spectacular fall colors and hundreds of migrating waterfall inspired artist Andy Skaff, a plein air painter from California, to set up his paint station at Ranchview and abridge the famous scence of Millionaries hole permanently on canvas. A first time visitor to the area, Skaff is anxious to encapsulate more the area in his art in the future.

A group of hikers enthusiastically approached me about the Elk heard bugeling on Thurmon ridge last night and inquired about the five grizzley bears that have been rumored about in the area as of late.
An increase of anglers between Sage Flats and the Gravel pits have indicated good fishing and warmer temperatures and the September full moon has been keeping them out later. This time of year is appealing to all and reminds me why "the ranch" will always be a place to return to for all.

Hoppin Action on the Ranch

by Anne Marie Miller

A variety of insects on the water has made early fall/late summer on the Ranch a fun place to fish the past few days, with many anglers excited about the number of rising big fish. With partly cloudy conditions and temperatures warming up around noon, PMD’s, Mahogany’s, caddis, black ants and hoppers have been excellent choices to have in your fly box.
A strong Trico hatch has been occurring below the observation deck at the log jam down to “the bay of pigs” early in the morning, and many big heads have been seen responding to them. In the afternoon, hoppers have been especially active with breezy afternoon conditions helping them to the water. There is much going on throughout the ranch, but expect to dedicate a hike on the famed banks to find the exact spot of the action!

Just another day at work

by Steve Trafton

When I was a teenager with a college professor father, I spent three years living in England. On one day each spring we would make the trip south to Hampshire, getting up early in the morning and driving out of London to the lush countryside and fertile chalkstreams that are part of every fly fisherman’s common history. The Test and the Itchen, rivers made famous by Halford, Skues, and other fly fishing pioneers, are found there, and we, pilgrims to the shrine, would spend the day casting dry flies to big trout in splendid surroundings. It was all wonderful, despite the minor irritations of a several hundred dollar daily rod fee and the nagging knowledge that the trout were, in all likelihood, recent arrivals from a hatchery.

Two days ago Tom McMurray, a friend from Jackson and one of the lead funders of the Henry’s Fork Foundation’s Caldera Project, took the afternoon and walked from the Last Chance angler’s parking lot to Pinehaven. We took in the length of the Ranch on a blustery late August day that had the feel of autumn by evening. At first, though, it was hot and bright, with the sun on the flowers in the meadows and grasshoppers underfoot, in the air, and on the water.

We followed the streamside path into the heart of the Ranch, looking for fish and rejoicing in the extraordinary scene that surrounded us: the Centennials on the horizon to the north and the Tetons to the south, the nearer, wooded ridgelines ever more clearly picked out by the sun as the afternoon progressed, the great open expanses of the rangeland in the foreground, and at our feet the incomparable Henry’s Fork, its surface constantly buffeted by the wind but every now and then – and often enough to hold out attention – broken by the snout of a feeding trout.

It was a different river from the one that I floated in late May with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game during an electrofishing survey. Then, in the midst of a long, cold spring and at lower flows, we encountered many long stretches of barren-looking shallows, with little habitat to appeal to trout. Three months later, after summer heat and at higher flows, the aquatic weeds have appeared in comparative abundance, and wading across the river was, even at one of its wider, shallower points, hard work.

The trout were there, too. In May, we surveyed decent if unspectacular numbers of trout, but long stretches of the river, in particular the upper end of the Ranch, appeared to have virtually no fish in them. Two days ago, Tom and I found fish throughout the upper Ranch, and over the course of the afternoon encountered fish from the top of Harriman State Park to the bottom. Ours was an unscientific survey, to be sure, dictated by the wind and the ratio of distance to be covered to time before dark. But the fish were there.

By the time we reached Osborne Bridge the shadows were lengthening, and the wind was howling. We did more walking than fishing, alternately stumbling along the steep, loose streamside and weaving our way along the narrow gap between the sagebrush and the electric fence. Just before dark the wind dropped, caddis appeared, and fish started to rise. We caught a couple of small, fat, and intensely lively trout, and then walked out to our car in Pinehaven. Although I had walked or boated piecemeal all of the water and ground that we covered that day, I had never done it in a single push. I wish that I had done so sooner.

In most places in the world, a readily accessible, gorgeous spot like Harriman State Park, run through with a trout fishery like the Henry’s Fork, would be private, or available to that tiny portion of the public able to pay the fee to gain access. On Wednesday, we paid $4 (on top of an annual pass). In most places in the world, if a place like Harriman State Park was open to the public, it would be overrun with people. On Wednesday, we saw 1 other person, and angler that we encountered in the first 15 minutes. When I fished the Test as a boy, on those painfully expensive occasions, scheduled months in advance and occurring only once a year, we caught the fish that were provided for us, graciously but artificially, by our hosts. This week, Tom and I decided to meet in Ashton the evening before, and we caught the fish provided for us by the Henry’s Fork. I went back for a couple of hours the next day, too.

We are lucky indeed.

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)