Henry's Fork Fishing Report - October 15, 2026

Henry’s Fork Streamflows

Island Park Dam:  96 cfs

Ashton Dam:  559 cfs

St. Anthony:  837 cfs

Fall River:  440 cfs

After the first real round of fall weather this last weekend, things are turning back to the sunny in Henry’s Fork country, although the numbers on the thermometer are a bit lower than they were in the first week of the month.  Flows are very low and will remain so through the foreseeable future, weeds are present and a force to contend with, but water temperatures are in great shape and prime for fall fishing.  The river is fishing well overall and has good opportunities from top to bottom.

Box Canyon

At these flows, not many folks will choose to float the canyon; there is a lot of bumping, thumping, and scraping involved but it can be navigated by walking through some of the more shallow sections.  Fishing has been good in the canyon lately and it will continue to fish well through the end of the month.  This is a great time of year to wade the canyon, focusing on the holding water found in the areas of greater depth.  Be sure to bring along a wading staff as getting around those square boulders can be a challenge.  For the most part, we’re fishing small nymphs in here this time of year, but a swung leech or stripped streamer can produce results as well.  Nymph selection hasn’t changed much from last week, we’re still liking the following:  unweighted PTs, red and brown Zebra Midges, Split Case, Rednecks #16-20; Rubberlegs stonefly nymphs #10-12.  Many perdigons will work but we especially like Olive Hot Spots, Spanish Bullets, Jakes’ SH, Black Daggers and red Jig Napoleons #16-18.

Railroad Ranch

For anglers who enjoy walking and stalking their catch, the Ranch is a great place to spend the day, there are plenty of fish rising out there, the greatest challenge is determining size and quality of those trout.  This time of year riseforms are sneaky and it can be a study in how to read them effectively.  Approach targets cautiously and slowly, at these low flows, anglers’ wakes will advance longer distances than you might think.  Observation and patience will be rewarded in here.  Trout are relatively concentrated as well, so you’ll do well to cover some ground in search of quality targets.  Baetis, pseudos, and mahoganies are the primary hatches at this time, you’ll want to bring a variety of life stages of each with emergers, duns and spinners all represented.  Hatches will be more abundant when there are clouds in the sky, but anglers should find at least sparse hatches even on the sunny days at this point in the fall.  Weeds, both exposed beds and drifting in the water column, are a force to be dealt with, anglers will do well to learn to deal with them efficiently, keeping the focus on the target at hand.

Canyon Country

The canyons of the Henry’s Fork are still beautiful places to spend the days, but these are long floats at current flows and days are shorter.  There are more interesting times of year to spend in these sections overall, but during a spell of fair weather, they can still be a good choice and will produce good action.  Dry/dropper rigs will be the most useful, but streamers will produce as well.

Warm River to Ashton

This section should continue to fish well through the end of the month, as it has for the past months.  Good action on small to medium sized trout can usually be found in here and a variety of techniques can be used.  There are usually a few larger surprises on a day spent in here and the potential for a truly large trout is always here.  Most anglers are nymphing under indicators at the moment, but streamer anglers will find a terrific diversity of water to play with, and trout spey or swing anglers will find many quality swinging runs.  Choose your own adventure in here and enjoy!

Below Ashton Dam

The lower river has benefitted from this last cold snap and baetis hatches are now part of the everyday cycle.  They’ll hatch better on days with clouds, but should be present on most days.  Sparse mahoganies will be present as well, but more so on cloudy days than sunny ones.  Nymphing, either under an indicator or a dry fly, will produce the most consistent results on sunny days.  Streamers will still produce as well.  Flies can be reflective of those recommended for the Box Canyon.

Good luck out there!!