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hey yall,
havent posted in forever but could use some advice. My gf is having a family reunion up at the henrys fork (macks inn area) and we were thinking about headed up thursday afternood and do some fishing before the rest of the family gets there. Was hoping to get some info or advice on the river and henrys lake (havent fished the lake much before except ice fishing it once). Anyone know where to hit up? also if we hit up the lake we were thinking about finding a boat to use, anyone know where to rent a boat for a day (or willing to lend one out to a complete stranger lol).
thanks yall, hope to post some reports if we have some luck
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I dont usually have much luck on Henrys during this part of the year but I believe the Wild Rose still rents boats and I think the last time I rented one it was around 100 bucks for the day. I usually hit up the river down below the Mesa Falls area. Couple of trails that you can get on to get down to the wafer but usually seems the fish are a little more active than in the lake while the temp is high.
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thanks for the info, what kinda quality are the rental boats? how are the trails down below mesa?
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[quote fireman12] how are the trails down below mesa?[/quote]
Virtually non-existent, if by below Mesa Falls, you mean the Bear Gulch Canyon itself. There are two trails at the lower falls campground and a decomissioned road access at the old Bear Gulch ski area. Forget about bushwacking into the Gulch; it's steep, overgrown and full of cliffs and deep green water. Getting around in Bear Gulch on foot is not easy. It's one place where flyfishermen genuinely get their money's worth ($600) hiring a local lodge to run it in a raft set up for fishing, especially considering that the boat ramp is a 450 vertical feet dirt slide. The slide counts as one of the trails at the campground. The access improves below the confluence with the Warm River but that is roadside, not trail access.
Above the falls, Cardiac canyon has easier access. Hatchery Ford road goes out to the last boat ramp. It's mostly class 1 and 2 whitewater around there and not nearly as rough as below the falls.
The Mack's Inn area has more access and also receives a lot of stockers to improve its "family fishing" zone status. It's also general regs; everything between IP Dam and Riverside has gear and harvest restrictions you need to observe. The Outlet section above Mack's Inn is seasonal and now ain't the season for it.
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hey yall, just wanted to follow through on the trip with some reports. well, there was no luck fishing. did rent a boat from wild rose (honestly not the worst iv ever rented). the fishing was less than slow, it was dead, rained about half the time up there,saw maybe one fish rise all day, saw one person catch one by staley (supposedly on a callibaetis nymph) but no luck for us. we trolled rapalas and drowned worms at staley and targhee creek but all we caught was weeds.
the weekend wasnt a total bummer though. we stayed at a cabin a few hundred yards up creek from macks inn and had an unexpected visitor at night, a big beautiful grizzly with a collar, maybe about 3.5-4 ft at the hump. took a pic on my phone, will try to upload later. also on our way home we decided to take a trip down to coffee pot rapids, on our way out we saw some grizzly prints. just a reminder in case you forget it really is bear country out there.
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[quote fireman12]
the weekend wasnt a total bummer though. we stayed at a cabin a few hundred yards up creek from macks inn and had an unexpected visitor at night, a big beautiful grizzly with a collar, maybe about 3.5-4 ft at the hump. took a pic on my phone, will try to upload later. also on our way home we decided to take a trip down to coffee pot rapids, on our way out we saw some grizzly prints. just a reminder in case you forget it really is bear country out there.[/quote]
Kokanee running out of IP reservoir into that creek make a powerful grizzly attractant. So are the hunters taking to the woods now (gutpiles). There have been three maulings in IP over the last few years. I worked with a guy who saw a big grizz while hunting on Bishop peak, the little peak over on the west side of Harriman state park. I've seen grizz prints along the rail-to-trail that runs along the Warm river. Bottom line, carry your spray close at hand along the upper Henry's or Warm rivers, especially in the spring or during hunting season. Same goes for Robinson creek and the upper Fall. I rarely see spray on the other anglers I encounter.
Over the years, I've seen a grizz and about a dozen black bears in my yard over here in the Teton basin so don't go thinking that being near a road or some houses makes you safe. I had a modest sized black bear investigating an open window last week. I yelled into his ear from about three feet away and slammed the window shut; officially the closest I have been to a bear.
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] Thanks for the report. Got friends up there right now that are claiming it is way slow too.