Henry's Lake

[curt69]

It will be good to see your report . Curt G.

[Reel trouble]

I'm going to drive up tomorrow and see how it is (along with half of eastern Idaho I presume) and will post what I find.

 Good luck looking forward to your report

[Groundtrac]

Fished at Goose Bay for about an hour then couldn't take the wind.  It was 3 degrees with a 25 mph wind.  It was absolutely miserable.  5 inches of pretty good ice and with the temps I'm sure it will thicken.  The entire lake is capped.  There were people fishing at the County dock, didn't look like anyone had tried Staley's, stump hole, or Wild Rose.  That end of the lake has dark clear, slick looking ice, not sure of the thickness but I'm betting not much.  Someone had tried to go out at the Hatchery, but I couldn't tell by the tracks if they were able to fish or not.  State Boat dock had lots of holes, but few brave souls fishing when we drove in, the wind there was even worse.  The road into Goose Bay was drifting but not too bad, 4x4 ok.  Going to try again Tuesday but I will be looking at the State web cam and if the wind is blowing 20 or more I'm not going to bother.  I will also add that the water was extremely murky and most of the fish I marked were all in the top 5 feet of water....weird for sure.

[curt69]

Thank you very much for the report sorry about the wind . Most of the season last year was that way . The wind really screams across that lake . I will be there Tuesday , probably between 9 and 10 . I don't get out very early . Can't take that below zero stuff .

[Reel trouble]

Thanks For the report Been there when it was like that the only thing that saved the day was the pop up

[bowhunter68]

Fished at Goose Bay for about an hour then couldn't take the wind.  It was 3 degrees with a 25 mph wind.  It was absolutely miserable.  5 inches of pretty good ice and with the temps I'm sure it will thicken.  The entire lake is capped.  There were people fishing at the County dock, didn't look like anyone had tried Staley's, stump hole, or Wild Rose.  That end of the lake has dark clear, slick looking ice, not sure of the thickness but I'm betting not much.  Someone had tried to go out at the Hatchery, but I couldn't tell by the tracks if they were able to fish or not.  State Boat dock had lots of holes, but few brave souls fishing when we drove in, the wind there was even worse.  The road into Goose Bay was drifting but not too bad, 4x4 ok.  Going to try again Tuesday but I will be looking at the State web cam and if the wind is blowing 20 or more I'm not going to bother.  I will also add that the water was extremely murky and most of the fish I marked were all in the top 5 feet of water....weird for sure.

nice work dude.

[iceokie06]

Excited to hit it this year, now that elk seasons over getting the gear ready for a long weekend!

[panfishman13]

can't wait for that ice to move south. i'm not even that far from Island park, and there's still only ice around the edges most places.
might have to take a trip up to Henry's next month to satisfy the itch.

[Phission]

My son and I hit Henry's yesterday. Fished at Hatchery from 9:30 til 3:00. Iced 22 fish, my boy landed the biggest at just over 22" and weighed in at 5lbs 4oz.  His biggest fish so far...and through the ice. THe weather was great, mostly sunny with only a light breeze.

Stopped at IP dam boat launch on the way out. Lake is capped shore to shore. Didn't look like anyone had dared venture out, nor did I.

Good luck out there 

[muskyon46]

Thanks for the report Phission, sounds like a great time 

Just a reminder to everyone there is a R&C board set up now for most lakes in Idaho that have been posted up in the new lakes list. These boards are for members only, with more than 3 posts. So they are not so public. I dont have the ability to move some of these reports but im sure they will be eventually. Again thanks for the report Phission

[hooknhunter]

Thanks for the report Phission, sounds like a great time 

Just a reminder to everyone there is a R&C board set up now for most lakes in Idaho that have been posted up in the new lakes list. These boards are for members only, with more than 3 posts. So they are not so public. I dont have the ability to move some of these reports but im sure they will be eventually. Again thanks for the report Phission

How do I get to it?  [Edit]Never mind.  Must have had a browser issue, but I wasn't able to find it before.

[curt69]

Fished 4 hours today . Not one bite . The lake is so murky there is only about 6" of visabilty . Drove around the lake , only 15 people fishing .

[troutfool]

Curt,
Which area of the lake did you fish and how thick was the ice?  Where was everybody else? 

I was surprised by your report because I read a report from the weekend that a few guys did really well by the hatchery.

[prospector]

I will be hitting it Friday afternoon. Waiting for my buddies to be there Saturday. Eskimo 949 if anyone wants to swap fish stories or just say hi. Not sure where to start, but doing my homework now. Does anyone have a favorite lure or color that they would be willing to share? Also, wanting to try out my Jaw jacker and curious how many lines are allowed at one time? Thanks in advance!

[curt69]

5 lines with up to 5 hooks per line . I was fishing Goose Bay not 1 bite in 4 hours . Drove around the lake and there were 3 groups at county boat dock . 1 at stayles, 1 at Pintail Point . No one at Wild Rose or  the Hatchery , or State Park . The lake froze so fast during a wind storm that several waterfowl were froze into the lake . The crows are feasting on the carcasses at the state park . Never seen that before .

[prospector]

Thanks curt! Sounds like four jaw jackers are in order.

[muskyon46]

or 2 riggers and 3 poles 

[SlaptheFish]

I thinks I'll go with 3 poles, a jacker, and a tip-up!  Very excited to get on the ice this weekend, though looks like a 5-day snow adventure.  Such is life in the ice world.  See you on Saturday Prospector!

[Groundtrac]

11/19 Fished again at Hatchery Creek area, more between Wild Rose and hatchery though today.  Ice was the same as yesterday, right at 5 inches.  Slow at first light, which is usually the golden hour, but then it really picked up until it absolutely died at 11.  Iced over 30, and lost at least 15.  Size was impressively good again today, with some very small fish also mixed in, but overall good.  36 degrees when we left, but doubt the temps will affect the ice any.  Also, as a bonus, got to meet and talk with Damon, the new fishery manager.  He checked our licenses and also came back out two different times to see how we were doing.  He said he would be checking as many fisherman as he is able.  Got an excellent education about the hybrid species that is stocked and his feelings about the overall health of the lake.  He was excited to see people out ice fishing and overall is a really genuine person to talk with; you can tell he cares a great deal not only about the health of the fishery but also the fisherman's experience.

[curt69]

Thanks for the report . Do you think it would be safe to ride a 4 wheeler on the ice .

[prospector]

I thinks I'll go with 3 poles, a jacker, and a tip-up!  Very excited to get on the ice this weekend, though looks like a 5-day snow adventure.  Such is life in the ice world.  See you on Saturday Prospector!

Sounds good man! Hope we can get plenty of good pictures and video for the next episode you are going to be making.

[Groundtrac]

Thanks for the report . Do you think it would be safe to ride a 4 wheeler on the ice .

Damon had his out on the ice around the hatchery towing out some buoys to mark off the closed area because the wind had blown the other ones around a lot.  Personally I think it's a little thin, but that's just me.  I certainly would be extremely careful if you did take one out, and make sure you bring tow ropes to haul it out of a slush spot when it does go through!

[curt69]

I think after the storm that is coming it will be snow machine time . The snow will be to deep for 4 wheelers . Thanks GT.

[SlaptheFish]

Sounds good man! Hope we can get plenty of good pictures and video for the next episode you are going to be making.

I hope so!  I have never landed a monster yet, in fact the biggest game fish I have ever caught was a 22 inch lake trout.  I hope we all come away with some good pics and good times this weekend.

Might take us 10hrs to drive there with the weather outlook, but won't be my first, or last drive in the snow.

See you Saturday!

[iceokie06]

I'm headed up Saturday Morning. I have never fished Staley Springs before but would like to give it a try. Any reports on what the ice looks like up that way? Also where is the best place to park your vehicle when you fish it? If its too thin we will probably hit it at the State docks or the Wild Rose. I heard that there was quite a bit of slush under the ice at the state docks, is that true for the whole lake right now?

[Groundtrac]

When I drove by this afternoon at Staley's, there was a large group fishing there with a four wheeler on the ice.  I assume it's at least 5 or so inches just like everywhere else.  You can either park off the road just to the east of Staley's in the pullout area and walk along the brush area down into there, or park at the point down the 4x4 road half way between Staley's and the county dock and walk over to Staley's.  IMHO, everyone likes to tell people about the big-ones they catch at Staley's but that area really sees a lot of pressure and there are lots and lots of other places to fish.

The slush that people are talking about is coming from overflow areas on the pressure cracks.  The wind really bunched that early ice up and there are pressure ridges everywhere.  One heaved and opened right near us as we were fishing the hatchery area.  Nothing to be too concerned about, just be aware that there are some slushy areas right now until it freezes hard again.  It was 37 degrees when we left today.

[curt69]

How was fishing for you today ? We are going to try the Hatchery in the morning .

[Groundtrac]

Is was really good again as long as you can stay off the weeds.  I do plan on fishing other areas but the hatchery has really kept me interested plus Damon has been around there and out talking to people and I always like to hear what he has to say I drove down into goose bay on the way out to see if you or anyone else was there but no one was down in there.

[curt69]

Thanks for the information . I think this storm is going to make things interesting .

[muskyon46]

Hey curt69 or Groundtrac how is the cell service at the lake?