I usually fish Henry's when I'm in the area. I'll be up there next weekend and figured I'd try something new. I've heard it's good. Can anyone tell me for Warm River has been fishing? I'll be wading and also would appreciate some tips on access points besides the Warm River campground. Thanks
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You may want to look at going to the henry's fork there in the same canyon. If you're heading from Ashton to warm river, just after you drop into the canyon heading to warm river there's a road to the left that will take you down to the boat ramp. You can stay on that road and access the river in a few different places. Most of it is wadeable. Have floated that section a few times, great stretch of river and just down the road from warm river if you want to mix things up!
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Thanks for the info, we'll try that for sure! I'll be there all weekend.
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[quote Trout_Man] I've heard it's good. Can anyone tell me for Warm River has been fishing? I'll be wading and also would appreciate some tips on access points besides the Warm River campground. Thanks[/quote]
I've fished it twice this year. It is ok if you are satisfied with small fish. It gets a lot of harvest because it has general regs and it's easy to access. Most of the bigger fish get taken out and eaten. Ten years ago, I used to routinely catch 14-18" browns in there but not anymore. It is still chock full of 6-12" fish (bow, brook and brown) with the occasional 14-15" brown. Once in a blue moon, you might see a flabby pig that wandered upstream from the feeding station. I got one, once.
There's lots of access, too much to consider this backcountry fishing; except for the bottom 1/2 mile, the whole stream is public. You've got a rail-to-trail running along the lower six miles; it is accessable at the top, middle and bottom of the canyon. There's a road running directly to rentable forest service cabins at the springs. Above the springs, a road runs within walking distance of the "river" for miles and then crosses at Pole Bridge. It's a small creek with mostly small brookies and bows (10" is big) above the springs. Partridge creek comes in at the bridge; above Partridge creek, the stream is tiny. I picked the heck out of the morels up there two weeks ago, got around 50-60 gallons.
ps. I have found grizzly tracks along the Warm. It's bear country, fer sure.
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Hey, just a little off the fish topic, but since you were roaming around gathering morels, does it look like we will have much of a huckleberry crop this year?
Ouzel
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Don't know. I wasn't in huckleberry territory. All I know about huckleberries is that too much or too little rain in mid-summer determines the quality of the crop. Ideally, one hopes for substantial rains combined with heat early in the season to get a good crop growing but then only light rains and moderate temperatures as you approach picking time. That late drier period will help concentrate the sugars in the fruit. The woods are beginning to get dry now, when rains would be helpful; west and south facing slopes are dusty all the way up to 8500 ft, north facing slopes are still moist.
Last year, July was very wet and a noticably cooler than normal. It was an outstanding and early season for chanterelles, as a result. I heard huckleberies weren't very good due to low yields and molding. I also noticed that aspen leaf blight was very widespread last summer; the hillsides had huge stands of aspen with grey leaves.
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Thanks for reply, I haven't had opportunity to go check the places we pick yet.
last year wasn't bad for the spots we pick. Have seen better, but have seen far worse years with BB size berries or none at all.
What is a chanterelles?
I know morels and what we call Snow mushroom, but they would be gone by now.
Ouzel
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Don't eat those "snow morels", also known as a "bullnose." That is not a morel (morchella), that is a gyromitria. Avoid.
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The 'snow' mushrooms as we call them, bear no resemblance to a morel.
They are orangish in color and found not far from the snowline in the spring. We would gather and soak to get all the earwigs and bugs out, then slice and batter and fry. Good eating but nothing on the order of fresh morels.
Wonder what the proper name is?
And again, what is a chanterelle?
Best,
Ouzel.
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[url "http://www.mssf.org/cookbook/chanterelle.html"]http://www.mssf.org/cookbook/chanterelle.html[/url]
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[quote Ouzel]The 'snow' mushrooms as we call them, bear no resemblance to a morel.
They are orangish in color and found not far from the snowline in the spring.
Wonder what the proper name is?
And again, what is a chanterelle?
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The so-called snowbank morel or bullnose (sp. Gyromitra Gigas) is a false morel. As a member of genus Gyromitra, it contains gyromitrin, a chemical you would do well to avoid. Yes, I know snowbank morels are traditionally eaten in northern Europe and that tradition was brought to the Rockies. Our understanding of the chemistry of Gyromitras has changed with study and this mushroom is increasingly being listed as one to avoid. Another issue is that its possible for beginners to confuse gyromitra gigas with gyromitra esculenta (also known as the "brain mushroom") and the "brain" contains enough gyromitrin to kill a person with the fumes released by cooking!
"Gyromitrin is a toxin and carcinogen present in several members of the fungal genus Gyromitra, G. esculenta. It is unstable and is easily hydrolyzed to the toxic compound monomethylhydrazine, a component of some rocket fuels. Monomethylhydrazine acts on the central nervous system and interferes with the normal use and function of vitamin B6. Poisoning results in nausea, stomach cramps, and diarrhea, while severe poisoning can result in convulsions, jaundice, or even coma or death. Exposure to monomethylhydrazine has been shown to be carcinogenic in small mammals."
"Several Gyromitra species are traditionally considered very good edibles and several steps are available to remove gyromitrin from these mushrooms and allow their consumption. For North America, the toxin has been reliably reported from the species G. esculenta, G. gigas, and G. fastigiata. Species in which gyromitrin's presence is suspected, but not proven, include G. californica, G. caroliniana, G. korfii, and G. sphaerospora, in addition to Disciotis venosa and Sarcosphaera coronaria. The possible presence of the toxin renders these species "suspected, dangerous, or not recommended" for consumption."
It's your body; do what you like but I won't eat them. Just consider that you need to have a powerful exhaust fan to safely saute these mediocre mushrooms or else you are contaminating your house with monomethylhydrazine fumes. If you must, it is recommended that you parboil them prior to saute, to purge the toxin.
Chanterelles are one of the big 3 gourmet wild mushrooms (morel, chanterelle and porcini). We get chanterelles in Idaho; our local species is Cantharellus Roseocanus. This zone of the Rockies also produces porcini; our local species is Boletus cf. Pinophilus. I can say with certainty that east Idaho has at least six different species of morels and four species of false morels.
Morchella: Brunnea (little black), Frustrata (mountain blond), Esculentoides (western yellow), Snyderi (fathead), Tomentosa (grey burn morel), Sextelata (black burn morel).
Gyromitra: Gigas/Montane (snowbank), Esculenta (brain), Infula (hooded).
Verpa Bohemica, also known locally as a "peckerhead."
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