# Island Park Trip



## Wells (Jan 6, 2008)

Took my much anticipated Island Park Trip this weekend. I wish I had better results, but it was just kind of slow up there. We caught fish using mostly small dry flies on Henery's Fork, Moose Creek, and the Buffalo River. Most were brook trout with a few cutts and rainbows mixed in. The largest fish was about 10 inches, but it sure was pretty up there. It was fun to go up there a learn a lot of new things. This was completly foriegn territory to me. A lot of my time was spent trying to decifer my map and figure out where I wanted to go. There are so many places to fish up there! There are a lot of people though!!! I think next year I'll go in the fall. We finished up the trip by renting a boat and going out on Henery's Lake. There were 28 boats in a very concentrated area, and none were catching fish. Don't get me wrong, the fish were there (jumping all around us), but nobody was catching fish. We had to pack it up and head home empty handed. Anyway, it was a very scenic trip, and we enjoyed it.


----------



## Guns and Flies (Nov 7, 2007)

Looks like you had a great time up there, I hope the information that I gave you was helpful. Thanks for sharing the trip.


----------



## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

The Henry's Fork is an amazing and perplexing place. Times you'll have 50 fish days, and get skunked the next. That's what makes it fun though. There are some great "go to" places up there I find myself hitting to save a day of no fish on the ranch. We'll hit the outlet of Henry's Lake, or we'll fish right below the Island Park dam. Either place has always treated me well after getting humbled by the ranch fish. But, fishing the ranch is a right of passage or even baptism into the world of fly fishing that we all must pass through. It is proof that if God is not a fly fisherman, there certainly are fly fishing gods somewhere that made the Henry's Fork. That place will get under your skin. If you've never been, you want to go. Once you've been, you'll curse it but want another chance at it. If you've hit it just right, you are among the chosen ones and the fly fishing gods have smiled on you. For the rest of us, get your butt kicked there and then float a royal wulff with a pheasant tail dropper through a plunge pool in the Henry's Lake outlet and enjoy the fish you'll catch.


----------



## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

4:30 AM is the typical protocol this time of year. There should be plenty of tricos hatching right now with a good spinner fall at 9-10ish, followed by mohogany's and yellow sally's. The difficult thing is (as you probably know) the abundance of different critters in different development stages and trying to figure which it is the fish are feeding on. Heck, with the cold and precip. this year, there still may be flav's going hard in the evening time, especially with last weekends weather. That'd be my favorite hatch.

Which sections did you fish on the fork? What time of day? I'm curious to what the timeline is this year.


----------



## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

> The difficult thing is (as you probably know) the abundance of different critters in different development stages and trying to figure which it is the fish are feeding on.


These are the times you tie on a flying ant or hopper pattern. In the evening blanket hatches, you'll fish yourself silly trying to match things. The blanket caddis evening hatches kicked my rear until I tied up a red and black flying ant pattern and threw it out there. They'll pluck the ant or hopper pattern from the caddis more than you might think. Plus, with all the real things ont he water, it makes it extremely hard to see your own fly.


----------



## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

True, when the fish get aggresive on caddis flies in the evening, I like to throw on a streamer. Hang on tight.


----------



## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

Yeah, I've heard from my source that right now is the time for hoppers and sculpins.


----------



## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Tricos for sure. It will still be a little early for Mahoganies. Callibaetis, PMDs (duns and spinners), caddis, and of course as Gary recommended beetles and ants are staples this time of year.


----------



## Jesse Higgins (Sep 11, 2007)

> True, when the fish get aggresive on caddis flies in the evening, I like to throw on a streamer. Hang on tight.


Yep. Olive Matukas along the shorline of the flat water. Sculpins in the "Box". 8)


----------



## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

Olive is my color, but I'm partial to Zonkers.


----------



## Wells (Jan 6, 2008)

> Which sections did you fish on the fork? What time of day? I'm curious to what the timeline is this year.


We fished the river by the coffee pot rapids, and by Mack's in. I fished it really early in the morning, and in the early afternoon. Just below Coffee Pot rapids looked more promising, but there were a lot of people there. I saw the outlet of Henery's Fork and wondered if I should fish there. I was with family though, and they aren't much for hiking and exploring. We had a good time though.


----------

