June 10 & 11, 2014
It’s been grueling since returning from Bhutan. I hope everyone enjoyed the Bhutan blog because I must have more than 70 hours into it. Then the catching up on emails, mail, bills, yard work and etc – it’s been a major grunt. But I remained focused and by Monday afternoon I was ready to head to Last Chance on the Henry’s Fork.
The Henry’s Fork in June is my favorite fishing venue on the planet. Naturally I enjoy parking my car and catching huge rainbows on small dries a minute walk away, but it’s the friends (photo is me and Whitefish Ed Tuesday night) I only see once a year that I enjoy best. Granny and I rolled into the gravel pits around 8 PM and immediately had a visit with our good friends Vic and Sandy Colvard.
The Henry’s Fork is incredibly low. Sounds strange I’m sure because we had a good snowpack this year. But May was crazy dry and the state let out too much water from the Island Park Dam and now the reservoir is too low. Word has it they’ll have the reservoir filled back up by July 1 and will raise the river back to normal flows. This will be just in time to help the rainbows for when it really gets hot.
June 10
After a good night sleep in the back of the Explorer Granny and I waded across the Last Chance section of the Henry’s Fork and immediately came across a nice fish rising to caddis. I’ve been fishing enough lately so I put Granny on him. She took my new Winston 4-weight Boron III LS and went to work.
Four hours later Granny had fooled six big fish in to eating her fly. She missed two of them and got destroyed by another two during the fight. But the other two she landed. One respectable bow of about 17″ that must have jumped six times and a big fat 18” rainbow that started with a backing long run then came in quite easily.
There’re no hero shots of Granny from Tuesday as she picked up the name butterfingers. Each of the two nice fish she landed managed to slip from her hands before we got a picture. I must give her credit though, she lands them fast and there’s always a lot of fight left in them.
I’m glad we enjoyed an excellent morning and early afternoon session of fishing because at 3 PM a storm came through and even though it got nice out right after, the fishing was done. I mean not a fish rose again all day at Last Chance. Naturally I never gave up. I stayed in my waders until 9 PM before we headed to Trout Hunter for some food and beer.
June 11
When we left home Monday we planned on getting up early Wednesday and heading home to do errands and etc. Granny and I are going back East on Monday for my parents 50th anniversary so we have plenty of chores to do. But after yesterdays stellar morning we couldn’t resist. Granny and I marched right back out on Last Chance at 9 AM.
Things weren’t rocking like yesterday. There was in fact a threatening north wind that always kills the fishing on the Henry’s at Last Chance. But luckily it settled and from 10 till noon Granny put on another clinic on these normally difficult rainbows.
Granny has become very attached to my Winston 4-weight LS and she’s finessing these fish with the fine rod like a pro. She was getting all of her fish on a parachute caddis attached to a 15’ 4X leader. That’s not a favorite leader size for most anglers but on the Fork, if you can handle it you’ll convince far more fish.
Granny put four fish in the air and landed two of them, both big fish. She still had the butterfingers but she managed to hold on long enough for me to click one mediocre frame.
It was great weekend. I’d been having problems sleeping and couldn’t get my mind off all the work I’m behind on, but the Henry’s is always the best cure. I’m back on the saddle and ready for the famous Henry’s Fork Ranch Opener this weekend!
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