Henry’s Lake is frozen as of today 11/9/18. The ice is not thick enough to ice fish and most likely wont be for a few more days depending on air temps and wind. There is always a chance a big wind storm may open the lake back up, but its probably best to plan to hit stillwaters to the south for the year.
Water temp on the lake is now in the mid 30’s. If the forecast holds, all its going to take is a couple of calm nights to freeze over. Planning a trip up there is going to be a real gamble at this point. If you do get up to the lake and it is still open, fish your flies VERY slowly in all the areas mentioned in prior reports. For now though, its time to tie flies and get ready for the opener. If you didn’t fish Henry’s this year because of reports of slow fishing you really missed out, there were a lot of really big hybrids landed and many folks caught their personal bests. Here’s to hoping for a good winter with plenty of snow and a good 2019 season on Henry’s!
Fishing at Henry’s is winding down for the season. If the forecast hold true, you could see people ice fishing the lake very soon. There is always a chance we get another warm spell, but its not looking likely. Its been an up and down fall on the lake and as the weather continues to get colder, the good fishing is going to be tougher and tougher to come by. For the next week or so I’d concentrate on fishing during the warmest part of the day and fishing areas with some warmer water pumping in like Staley Springs, Wild Rose, the Hatchery, Hope Creek, etc… The State park continues to fish well for numbers of cutthroats, although hardly any bigger hybrids have been landed in this area. Continue to fish the standard henry’s fare (darker leech patterns size 4-8) and experiment with your retrieve speed. When the water temps reach the low forties and mid to upper thirties, it doesn’t seem to be as critical to be near the bottom. This is one time of year where you could just take up an intermediate line and fish it effectively from 3-12ft of water. We will try to have updated water conditions as it gets closer to icing up, so be sure to check with us before you make the drive.
Cutts are beginning to congregate around the State Park shoreline. This means anglers will soon be doing the same there, whether angling from shore or from a boat. Whether walking the shoreline, launching and fishing from a boat, let’s be sure to show courtesy and consideration to all present. There will be situations where such will be necessary in order to maintain an enjoyable outing.
Henry’s is finally starting to show some signs of life the last week or so. Although there aren’t a lot of the bigger fish being caught right now, a fair amount of fish have moved into the shallows and are providing decent action. Most of the good fishing has been from the pintail point area south all the way to hope creek. The wind has been mostly out of the southwest this fall, so the western shoreline is a little more protected and has cleaner water. The fish have been relatively shallow 3-8ft so a type 1 or an intermediate line is really all you need. Fly choice doesn’t seem to be critical, darker leeches in size 6-8 have been best (Black Crystal Bugger, Brown Crystal Bugger, Canadian Brown). Hopefully the lake continues to pick up and we have a good October, stay tuned for more reports.
If you wait all season to hear a report of Henry’s Lake picking up, you may miss the fall season completely. Numbers appear to be down considerably on the lake, but the size of the fish is more than making up for it. There have been many large hybrids caught this season by folks paying their dues and if you want to have your shot at one, I’d go sooner rather than later. There hasn’t been any one area that has been on fire, I’d pick a spot on the west or south shore in 6-10ft of water and fish hard. Fly choice doesn’t seem to be too important, I’d stick with all the traditional mohair leeches and crystal buggers in sizes 6 & 8. This fall, its going to be about putting your time in at the lake. Make sure you have an assortment of fly lines with you as depths your fishing and depths the fish cruise can vary throughout the day. We’ve been having success with the new SA frequency type 1 line for the shallows, the cortland clear camo intermediate for the 5-8ft range, and the revamped SA wet cell lines for the deeper water. We get folks in all the time asking for the best “do all” line for Henry’s and the honest answer is none. You really need 3 lines minimum to effectively cover your bases on the lake, any less and you leave yourself the chance of being unprepared for certain situations. We have all the lines above in stock at the store and would be happy to help answer any questions and get you set up for your trip. We have a few guys fishing it weekly in the shop here, so check back with us for updated reports.
Look at the number of boats on the lake, and slow fishing is obvious. Around springs and creek mouths, especially early in the day, are the best locations for any action. But if action comes to these places, expect company. Looks like best strategy is wait until October.
Slow is the best word to describe fishing here. Reports of one or two fish in a nearly complete day of fishing are common.
The lake was slow fishing during opening weekend, but some large fish were caught. Leech patterns worked best. Because ice-out happened several days ago the lake has apparently warmed enough for many fish to move to deeper water.
Henry’s is frozen and done for the year for open water fishing! Hopefully another good year of snow will keep water in the lake and the big fish 8-10lbs, will be true monsters next year!