Henry's Lake
HENRY'S LAKE
ReportSEP 16 — 23, 2026
🌊
Flow
—CFS
🌡️
Water Temp
—
☀️
Weather
39–73°F
Mostly Clear
🎣
Reported By
Bruce Staples
On the water
Henry's Lake is cooling with shorter days and cold nights, pushing larger-than-average trout into the shallows to forage around submerged weed beds. Early morning through mid-morning offers the best window before midday sun reduces overhead cover.
From the ShopBruce Staples · September 16, 2026
The lake is cooling off thanks to fewer daylight hours and colder nights, and fish are beginning to move into shallow water to forage on life forms around submerged weed beds. Larger than average trout are being caught.
Early in the day to mid-morning still offers the best fishing times before bright mid-day sunlight reduces overhead cover and warms water closest to the surface. Wading around weed beds and drop-offs is improving.
Fish streamer and leech patterns with slow retrieves or under an indicator, as well as nymph and midge emerger patterns underneath an indicator near submerged weed beds. Boat fishing remains dangerous when winds pick up.
What's Working — Hot Flies
Hatch Chart
| Insect | Size | Activity | Prime Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midges | #18–22 | Moderate — emergers active near weed beds | Early morning through mid-morning |
| Leeches | #10–14 | Strong — fish actively foraging in shallows | First light through mid-morning |
| Aquatic Nymphs / Weed Bed Invertebrates | #12–14 | Moderate — fish keying on subsurface life around weed beds | Early morning through mid-morning |
| Baitfish / Streamers | #6–12 | Moderate — slow retrieves drawing strikes from larger trout | Early morning |
Best Time Window
- FIRST LIGHT TO MID-MORNING: Prime window — fish streamers and leech patterns with slow retrieves or under an indicator near submerged weed beds and drop-offs while trout are actively foraging in the shallows
- EARLY MORNING WADE FISHING: Wading around weed beds and drop-offs is improving — target the shallow edges with nymph and midge emerger rigs under an indicator before midday sun reduces overhead cover
- AVOID MIDDAY TO AFTERNOON ON WINDY DAYS: Bright midday sun warms surface water and reduces overhead cover, slowing the bite; Thursday brings an 80% chance of thunderstorms and gusts to 20 mph — stay off the boat and off the water in those conditions
Guide's Tip
From the benchWith fish moving shallow around weed beds, set your indicator depth carefully so your fly rides just above the vegetation — too deep and you'll be snagged, too shallow and you'll miss the feeding zone. Get on the water at first light and plan to be off or fishing deeper water by late morning as the sun climbs. Thursday's forecast calls for showers and thunderstorms with wind gusts to 20 mph, so plan your boat days accordingly — Madison notes that boat fishing becomes dangerous when winds pick up on Henry's Lake.
Main Species
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
Brook Trout
Rainbow Trout
