04-01-2009, 02:14 PM
First off, thanks to those that provided the info on the river flows. Now to the report.
Our first stop was at the sportsman access point in Firth. Wasn't happy about the West side of the river parking area to be closed, so we fished the East side. After about an hour of fishing fighting the high winds, my friend landed a nice brown. I'm guessing it was 21 or 22 inches. Took a picture and let it go.
Headed North to Shelly. Found a access point and started fighting the wind err uhh fishing. Things started out slow as we didn't get a bite for the first 30 minutes. We found a little side channel and things heated up. I landed 3 browns. All were 16-18 inches. I also missed 5 or 6 strikes. In the same run, my friend also landed 3 fish. 2 browns 14 and 16 inches with a nice cuttbow that was around 21 inches. It was fat and healthy. After spending about an hour, we moved back out onto the main channel. I landed a skinny brown that was skinny. Probably around 20 inches. My friend picked up another 16-17 inch brown. I'm suprised at the # of fish we caught in the 30 -40mph wind gusts. We found another spot to access the river in Shelly. We fished here for about 2 hours. I missed 4 hits and had something big on. It peeled the line off my drag for about 5 seconds then came unbuttoned. I wish I could of seen what it was, but alas it's just another fish story now. My friend landed 1 small sucker and also missed a few strikes. We are blaming the wind for many of the missed hits.
We hopped in the truck and headed for Idaho Falls. Grabbed a bite to eat at Smitty's and then checked into our hotel. It started to snow and the wind didn't look like it was going to let up. We figured to heck with it and headed for Heise. We fished about half mile of river working the side channels and the main river. I think I caught 5 or 6 small browns. All were 12-14 inches. My friend also landed a few small browns. We headed back to Idaho Falls through the blowing snow storm. The roads were interesting to say the least.
Monday morning with sunny skies and no wind, we headed to the Henry's Fork. I had never fished it and wanted to see what it was like. We exited the Yellowstone Highway at Rexburg and headed North West. We found an access point that I think was called Whites Slough. The river is flat and is a little more difficult to read as to where the fish will be holding. After working the main river for a while we found a nice run with a bunch of submerged logs. I hooked a nice brown and had it up to the shore. Once again, it released itself. My friend had a few hits and finally landed an 18 inch brown.
This small stretch was the only area we could find active fish. So we loaded up headed back down the highway.
We stopped at the access point right next to Bear World. We hiked about a mile up river. We both landed 5 or 6 fish, but nothing bigger than 15 inches. Kind of depressing we didn't get anything bigger. There seems to be more fish in the South Fork, but the average is a lot smaller. ( I know there are a few bigguns in there)
On the way home we stopped in Shelly and fished 2 areas. I landed 1 17 inch brown and missed a few hits. My friend landed 2 more browns before heading back to Utah.
Sorry no pics as they were on 35mm. I need to invest in a digital camera one of these years.
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Our first stop was at the sportsman access point in Firth. Wasn't happy about the West side of the river parking area to be closed, so we fished the East side. After about an hour of fishing fighting the high winds, my friend landed a nice brown. I'm guessing it was 21 or 22 inches. Took a picture and let it go.
Headed North to Shelly. Found a access point and started fighting the wind err uhh fishing. Things started out slow as we didn't get a bite for the first 30 minutes. We found a little side channel and things heated up. I landed 3 browns. All were 16-18 inches. I also missed 5 or 6 strikes. In the same run, my friend also landed 3 fish. 2 browns 14 and 16 inches with a nice cuttbow that was around 21 inches. It was fat and healthy. After spending about an hour, we moved back out onto the main channel. I landed a skinny brown that was skinny. Probably around 20 inches. My friend picked up another 16-17 inch brown. I'm suprised at the # of fish we caught in the 30 -40mph wind gusts. We found another spot to access the river in Shelly. We fished here for about 2 hours. I missed 4 hits and had something big on. It peeled the line off my drag for about 5 seconds then came unbuttoned. I wish I could of seen what it was, but alas it's just another fish story now. My friend landed 1 small sucker and also missed a few strikes. We are blaming the wind for many of the missed hits.
We hopped in the truck and headed for Idaho Falls. Grabbed a bite to eat at Smitty's and then checked into our hotel. It started to snow and the wind didn't look like it was going to let up. We figured to heck with it and headed for Heise. We fished about half mile of river working the side channels and the main river. I think I caught 5 or 6 small browns. All were 12-14 inches. My friend also landed a few small browns. We headed back to Idaho Falls through the blowing snow storm. The roads were interesting to say the least.
Monday morning with sunny skies and no wind, we headed to the Henry's Fork. I had never fished it and wanted to see what it was like. We exited the Yellowstone Highway at Rexburg and headed North West. We found an access point that I think was called Whites Slough. The river is flat and is a little more difficult to read as to where the fish will be holding. After working the main river for a while we found a nice run with a bunch of submerged logs. I hooked a nice brown and had it up to the shore. Once again, it released itself. My friend had a few hits and finally landed an 18 inch brown.
This small stretch was the only area we could find active fish. So we loaded up headed back down the highway.
We stopped at the access point right next to Bear World. We hiked about a mile up river. We both landed 5 or 6 fish, but nothing bigger than 15 inches. Kind of depressing we didn't get anything bigger. There seems to be more fish in the South Fork, but the average is a lot smaller. ( I know there are a few bigguns in there)
On the way home we stopped in Shelly and fished 2 areas. I landed 1 17 inch brown and missed a few hits. My friend landed 2 more browns before heading back to Utah.
Sorry no pics as they were on 35mm. I need to invest in a digital camera one of these years.
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