June 21 to 25, found about 24 BVFF members and their guests in eastern Idaho fly fishing the world renowned Henry's Fork of the Snake River. This was the first outing in quite a while (maybe the first ever) to this extraordinary river.

Many thanks go out to hosts John Proveaux and Scott Lieberg for their efforts during the past year to coordinate this wonderful outing. The information they provided regarding hotel accommodations, campgrounds, fishing guide services, fishing the Henry’s Fork and other area rivers, etc. proved invaluable. THANK YOU!

John Proveaux               Scott Lieberg (near)

The weather was a bit sketchy with rain and scattered thunderstorms on Friday and blue skies on Saturday. The overcast skies on Friday provided for a Green Drake hatch and some terrific fishing. Many fish were boated and then released for the next fly fisher to catch. Each evening after a day of fishing or sightseeing, we’d sit around a warm fire and tell stories of the day’s adventures.

Tom Old, Scott Cheser, George Butts, and John Proveaux

Talk around the fire on Saturday was that Bob Law had the magic flies and not only caught the most fish but also the largest. Supposedly, while his guide and boatmate were breaking for lunch, he continued to fish and hooked a 20" rainbow. The guide had to leap 20 feet from the shore into the Henry's Fork to net the fish. (Distance of leap and length of fish may be exaggerated).

Bob Law preparing for an epic day of fishing

For those not using a guide, there were myriad tributaries of the Henry’s Fork to explore. My wife and I tested our skills on the Buffalo River for small brookies and rainbows. Using a #10 Green Drake dry fly and #18 PMD dry fly, we managed to land a few although setting the hook on these small fish was challenging. Imagine a 6” brookie aggressively taking a #10 Green Drake and trying to get a hook set. Needless to say, we had more takes than catches and the action was non-stop for a couple of hours.

On Saturday evening, the entire group met at Ashton Logs Cabins (the host site) for a meal of pulled pork sandwiches and wonderful pot luck side dishes. It provided a terrific opportunity to meet BVFF members and their families and friends.

Let’s plan to do this outing again in 2024!