The Start of The South Fork

This past week I was able to float the South Fork of the Snake River for the first time this season.

HFA guide, Phil Hanamaikai, and I floated "The Canyon" section from the Spring Creek boat access to our private take out owned by Mark Rockefeller. It was a welcomed break from our beloved Henry's Fork, and hosted some great fishing for cutthroat trout in the riffles and brown trout on the banks.

Afternoon PMD mayflies in a riffle

Phil with a native 19-inch cutthroat

Friends and Fish

This past week I guided two college buddies down the river. Mitch sure gave me some "real life experience" as he was consistently tangled, snagged, or had his flies caught in trees. It proved to be good guiding practice, but in the end we did catch some fish, had lots of laughs, and told a few stories. That's what a day on the river should be like.

Nate Peters with a Henry's Fork 21-inch brown trout

Mitch Stephenson and "the big one that got away."

Guide House

This is where I'll be hanging my hat for this fishing season. If you were to walk inside, you'd think you went back in time to the 1970's. Let me introduce you to my roommates...

Captain J.D. Miller has been with Henry's Fork Anglers since 2005. He previously spent several seasons guiding his home waters in Colorado, as well as southern Montana and Yellowstone Park. He is a prolific commercial fly tier and is a fly designer for Montana Fly Company.

John "Hootie" Mauldin was born and raised in Dalton, Georgia. He Graduated from Kennesaw State University with a B.S. degree in Psychology. He began fishing Northwestern Wyoming waters as a young teenager on Summer vacations. 2008 was his first season with Henry's Fork Anglers. Between November and April John can be found guiding for southeastern trout for Unicoi Outfitters.

Dustin Hegsted grew up fishing the Henry's Fork, Teton River, South Fork, Warm River, and many other streams and lakes in the area. Dustin's first fly shop experience was with South Fork Outfitters, where he spent three seasons in the fly shop, followed by a season as a fly fishing guide. The following year, he made the transition to guiding for Henry's Fork Anglers. He recently graduated from BYU-Idaho and plans to eventually obtain an MBA in International Business.

JD's dogs: Ruby and Folsom

Pteronarcys californica...what?

For the past few weeks, the Henry's Fork has been the choice destination for traveling anglers in pursuit of the famous salmonfly. After living in the river for up to three years, these insects migrate toward the banks to transform into their adult form...mate...and then die. This hollowed "hatch" can provide the best dry-fly fishing of your life, or be the biggest let-down of your season.

Living The Dream

It has been over a month since I started my second season with Henry's Fork Anglers located in Island Park, Idaho. The month of May brings melting snow, opening day of the general fishing season, and truck loads of new merchandise. With box cutters in hand, my days are spent opening and stocking the latest gear from companies such as Patagonia, Cloudveil, Columbia, and Simms. It's almost like Christmas...but I don't get to keep any of the presents.

More Steelhead...

I started this post a month ago after making my final steelhead trip to the Salmon River with fellow HFA employee, Chris Lawson. It is now the first week in May, and you may be asking, why are you writing about a fishing trip that has been belated for over a month? In all honesty...only a steelheader would understand.

All week I had been checking the weather, and saw two consecutive days predicting sun and temperatures reaching the mid 60's. This would allow the water temperature to raise and hopefully motivate the steelhead to start moving up river. I already knew why Chris was calling me when my phone rang, and after ending the conversation I immediately started tying dozens of egg patterns in anticipation for the following day.

To make a long story short, the enclosed photograph is the first steelhead I landed that day, and was followed by a dozen more. By days end, Chris and I had landed over thirty fish, and lost many more. At one point we we're hooking up on almost every cast. I may be a fisherman, but I don't lie.

This was a day that I will never forget, and is day that few steelhead fishermen ever experience in their lifetime. I am addicted to steelhead.

Chasing Steelhead

I gathered the necessary supplies, hitched my drift boat to the back of my truck, and headed north for Salmon, Idaho. I had no itinerary, except that I'd be chasing steelhead, a species of rainbow trout that is born in fresh water, goes to the ocean for a number of years to grow, and then returns to fresh water to spawn.

It has been said that there are two types of steelhead fishermen...those that do, and those that don't. Steelhead fishing is unlike regular trout fishing, and a steelhead angler is unlike any other angler. You are pursuing a migratory fish that is maybe not even in the river at the time you are fishing. There is no anticipation of catching different species of trout in the river, because there are none. It's all or nothing. You don't even know if there are any steelhead there, but for some reason you can't stop casting. The feel of a steelhead on the end of your line possess you to go back the next day, and day after that, and the day after that. The Salmon River is lined with tents and campers of obsessed anglers chasing these elusive fish for weeks on end.

One day, I met a physician from Missoula, Montana named Eric. He was also camping and fishing for a few days and I extended him the invitation to float down the river with me. We finished the day catching only one steelhead, and he commented that today was a "good day." With a puzzled look on my face he added that a "bad day" of steelhead fishing is when you wreck your vehicle en route to the river, or you break your rod before you even start fishing...speaking from personal experience.

After living in my waders for four days, I returned to my cozy apartment with all the comforts of modern living, and protection from the elements. However, this personal pilgrimage has started another chapter in my book of fly fishing pursuits that I hope to continue writing for the rest of my mortal life. I am haunted by steelhead.