Some fish are still shallow and accessable to bank and float tube anglers but shore angling is slowing down.  Fish are responding to midge pupae patterns fished under an indicator. Stripping leeches and scuds still produces but not as well as on opening week. Damsel migration should start when the water warms a bit more.

High, cold and muddy. There’s quite a bit of snowpack left in the Teton Mountains so expect this river to rise again as temps increase in the high country. For now,  try streamers in the Valley and big stonefly nymphs in the Canyon sections. Early July seems a likely time for this water to come into prime shape this season. On the plus side, the river will remain cold throughout the summer and will provide great PMD, golden stone, trico and yellow sally hatches during the hot weeks of August.

Still a bit high and swift for good wade fishing. Keep checking the bridge pilings for salmonflies on your drive over to fish the Henry’s Fork. Salmonflies are out on the lower river and adventurous floaters have a distinct advantage over waders at current water levels. Note well: the Fall is swift, rocky stream and contains numerous rapids and diversion dams. It is a trip for skilled rowers who are reasonably familiar with the river. The rapids at hwy 20 bridge are very difficult to run in a drift boat or skiff.

Lower River

The lower sections of the Henry’s continue to produce the most surface action. The river sections below Mesa Falls and Ashton Dam are seeing a mix of bugs with our staple hatch of the summer, the pale morning dun, the most abundant hatch. In the last hours of the day, look for the PMDs to return to the water as rusty spinners. Flavs are appearing and Green Drakes have been observed in increasing numbers. Expect both of those hatches to increase in density as the weather warms. Scattered golden stones are around and provide a good option for an indicator fly if using a dry/dropper tandem rig. Caddis hatches are occurring frequently before sunset and swinging soft hackles and caddis pupae patterns has been productive throughout the day. Expect yellow sallies to show soon and provide another dry fly option. These are the days when hatches overlap and a well stocked flybox with multiple lifecycle phases pays dividends for dry fly enthusiasts.

Upper River

PMDs hatched in good numbers at Harriman 6/19/10. Tan #20 micro caddis and #16 brown bodied/tan winged caddis are hatching daily and soft hackle and caddis pupae are productive. #18 and #20 black ants are abundant on the shoreline and finding their way into the drift. Nymphing has been productive in the Box Canyon.

Ashton Reservoir is being lowered for repairs at the dam. This may drive some very, very large fish upstream into the river above the inlet. Perhaps the next state record brown trout….Why not?  The current record (27.3lbs) came out of the inlet just two years ago.

This beautiful spring creek is at its best right now. Hatches of PMDS, yellow craneflys, caddis, golden stones and yellow sallies are providing dry fly options. Big nymphs fished tight to cover will entice the larger browns that rarely look up at dry flies.

Flows have declined to 12,000 cfs which is a typical level for summertime. If floating the river, concentrate your efforts on the “off-current” banks, inside corners and riffle drop-offs and use attention grabbing streamers or big nymphs paired with a small nymph dropper. Cloudy days usually provide great streamer action for large fish. Black, chartreuse or flashy streamers are the most visible in off-color water. Hatches should start to increase on the lower river as flows stabilize and the long summer days start to heat up the water.