# Harriman and Upper Henry's Fork



## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

We have scheduled a trip each month with the new addition and we were lucky enough to score a yurt in Harriman State Park for mid-August. Last year's RV trip through the Island Park region got me addicted but I really didn't experience much fishing given the circumstances.

Any advice on where to target if I only have 1 full day and maybe a few hours the other two days to wet a line? We'll be floating 1-2 days in a tandem inflatable kayak around Buffalo River campground or Big Springs (aware no fishing 😥 ) with lil' one so I'll probably toss in a tenkara rod for those trips. But I should be able to get my wife to let me fish the state park in the mornings/evenings and then she'll gladly chill on shore with our milk shark for a different afternoon.

It's not an ideal setup but time in the sun casting will be a rare commodity now adays and I'll savor every moment I get. 

Any advice is appreciated but I also think this will become a semi-annual trip for us so I'm hoping to slowly get to know the streams for decades.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

The fish on Henrys Fork above Island Park Reservoir dam and Buffalo river are usually small. A lot of planter rainbows in the Mack's inn area. There is a fall spawn rainbow that will come up the river from the reservoir, so if you must fish that area, I would fish within a mile or two of where the river goes into the reservoir. If you don't care about size, Coffee Pot Campground for good fishing for 12" fish. The bigger fish are located below the dam. Fishing right before dark with caddis is the best fishing at that time of year. I like to fish either last chance or osborn bridge.


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## browntrout (Apr 27, 2008)

I have a follow up question to Henry's Fork. If you want to walk and wade in the summer is it best to W&W at the bridge just north of Ashton (HWY 20) crossing Henry's Fork or take a left in Ashton and head west for the bridge crossing Henry's Fork going towards Ora? Where do the drift boats launch at? Thank you.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Several drift boat launches in the region, including the Ora bridge ramp. There was major construction there last July.

I can't speak to "best" but I had good luck right below the dam outside Ashton. There is a public access road you can walk down to the tail waters. It was high the week before July 4th but people were wading there. I caught mostly small to medium trout but did manage to entice a lunker that snapped my line.

I was completely new to the area last year but struggled to find easy public wading access at early July levels. Bring a map as there is a lot of private land.


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## MWScott72 (May 23, 2011)

It has been decades since I fished the Henry's and other water in that area. Here is my two cents.

1) the fish in the Buffalo River are indeed small. We never caught anything approaching 12" in that area. Most were between 7-10", but they were always eager to eat and would take dries, so if size is no matter, then that would be a great option. The river is shallow and crystal clear, so scenic-wise, it's a big draw if pleasing the eye is important.

2) My favorite area to fish was Box Canyon (right below Island Park, if I remember correctly). Good fishing for bigger 12-16" inch fish with the occasional 18-20" fish. One year, we absolutely killed them fishing in what I call "the surf zone" right where they release the water. It was crazy, but we caught fish ever 3-4 casts that year in there. Most of our fish were on nymphs - big brown stonefly nymphs (I think) and muddler minnows. It may have changed since then, but that's what worked at the time. Not much in the way of dries or surface action, but you could catch smaller trout on top in some of the slackwater areas there. If you get the chance, I highly recommend it.

3) Never had much success in the flat water sections in Harriman SP. Those fish are smart, and if you didn't have exactly what they wanted, they wouldn't give you the time of day.

Hope this helps. Good luck and enjoy the trip...even if the "milk shark" might complicate things somewhat


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