Fly Fishing the West
Vol. 6, Issue 1
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Henry's Fork of the Snake River at Coffee Pot Rapids
Island Park, Idaho
The Henry's Fork of the Snake River has its origin from Big Springs and outflow from Henry's Lake to the north. Downstream from the Mack's Inn Bridge the river flows west. The water is wide, calm and a beautiful setting. After several miles it turns south into a section called Coffee Pot Rapids. Here the stream narrows and becomes more swift with rapids and some boulders and log jams. Trent, Steve, Jerry, Les, Todd, and I arrived by traveling north on Idaho Highway 20, turning west on Coffee Pot Rapids Campground Road just before Mack's Inn. Traveling to the end of the dirt road, we parked and had a hike down to the stream of about 200 yards. Todd went downstream, Trent crossed the stream (waded). and the rest went upstream. Steve and I fished a long deep run (about 30 yards). I fished the top of the run and he was next downstream. Steve caught 8 MOUNTAIN WHITEFISH nymphing (Tyson Method) on a size 18 flashback midge. They ranged in size anywhere from 12"-14" with one that must have been 16". (It is the largest whitefish I have seen.) I caught two WHITEFISH (both about 13") on the same fly. After I caught the two, I switched to a number of other flies and caught one more WHITEFISH on a size 8 black stonefly. (Switching did apparently keep most of the whitefish at bay as I caught none, including trout, thereafter.) Trent was fishing dry flies with a dropper with little luck (one small rainbow). Todd and Jerry caught several small RAINBOWS nymphing, and dry flies, respectively. This is a beautiful part of the river, remote and serene.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. When we arrived at Coffee Pot Rapids (2 pm) it was a nice, partly sunny day. By about 6 pm a thunderstorm rolled in. It began to rain,... then rain hard,... then hail started coming down,... then very hard hail. We took cover in under pine trees until it was over. (The hail lasted about 20 minutes.)
2. Upstream from Mack's Inn is a popular rafting area where one can see lots of wildlife, including moose, and large trout in the deeper sections of the river.
3. We ran into a few other fishermen, probably because it was Saturday. I did not see any of them catch anything. We spotted a mink or small otter swimming down the stream.
Vol. 6, Issue 1
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Henry's Fork of the Snake River at Coffee Pot Rapids
Island Park, Idaho
The Henry's Fork of the Snake River has its origin from Big Springs and outflow from Henry's Lake to the north. Downstream from the Mack's Inn Bridge the river flows west. The water is wide, calm and a beautiful setting. After several miles it turns south into a section called Coffee Pot Rapids. Here the stream narrows and becomes more swift with rapids and some boulders and log jams. Trent, Steve, Jerry, Les, Todd, and I arrived by traveling north on Idaho Highway 20, turning west on Coffee Pot Rapids Campground Road just before Mack's Inn. Traveling to the end of the dirt road, we parked and had a hike down to the stream of about 200 yards. Todd went downstream, Trent crossed the stream (waded). and the rest went upstream. Steve and I fished a long deep run (about 30 yards). I fished the top of the run and he was next downstream. Steve caught 8 MOUNTAIN WHITEFISH nymphing (Tyson Method) on a size 18 flashback midge. They ranged in size anywhere from 12"-14" with one that must have been 16". (It is the largest whitefish I have seen.) I caught two WHITEFISH (both about 13") on the same fly. After I caught the two, I switched to a number of other flies and caught one more WHITEFISH on a size 8 black stonefly. (Switching did apparently keep most of the whitefish at bay as I caught none, including trout, thereafter.) Trent was fishing dry flies with a dropper with little luck (one small rainbow). Todd and Jerry caught several small RAINBOWS nymphing, and dry flies, respectively. This is a beautiful part of the river, remote and serene.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. When we arrived at Coffee Pot Rapids (2 pm) it was a nice, partly sunny day. By about 6 pm a thunderstorm rolled in. It began to rain,... then rain hard,... then hail started coming down,... then very hard hail. We took cover in under pine trees until it was over. (The hail lasted about 20 minutes.)
2. Upstream from Mack's Inn is a popular rafting area where one can see lots of wildlife, including moose, and large trout in the deeper sections of the river.
3. We ran into a few other fishermen, probably because it was Saturday. I did not see any of them catch anything. We spotted a mink or small otter swimming down the stream.
4. A 2009 Idaho out-of-state fishing license was $53 for 7 days, i.e., $12.50 for the first day and $6 for each successive day plus a "convenience" fee of $4.96.
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