Health advisory lifted on Henrys Lake
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Henrys Lake is showing a reduction of algae and the toxins that caused health concerns for humans and pets. After two weeks of sampling, the Department of Environmental Quality lifted the health advisory on Monday, Sept. 14. This is good news for the Department of Fish and Game, which needed a clean bill of health from the DEQ before it could stock the planned planting of cutthroats, hybrids and brook trout. “With the health advisory cancelled, we will go ahead with the planting of fingerlings on Sept. 22 through Sept. 25,” said Damon Keen, the Henrys Lake Hatchery manager. “A lot of people ignored the warning, and with the drop in water temperature we have seen an increase of fishermen.”
During the summer Henrys Lake had a much slower catch rate than the Fish and Game desired, and people complained bitterly about lack of fish in the lake, officials said. “We are seeing the catch rates increase as the water temperature is around 60 degrees,” said Keen. “We are hearing of 30 to 70 fish now being caught with a lot of fish weighing 5 to 6 pounds.” Traditionally the fall fishing is the best as the fish prepare for winter by gorging themselves. They also are predictable where they can be caught. The Cliffs, the flats from the A-frame to Duck Creek, Henrys Lake State Park, Staley Springs and Hope Creek have all been good this week. White jigs, Halloween flies and black leech flies with flash in them have been producing some of the larger fish. The DEQ’s release still cautions, “The public should still avoid any isolated areas of algae, which may look like floating white-gray paint, and should contact DEQ at (208) 528-2650 to report any areas of concern.”
During the summer Henrys Lake had a much slower catch rate than the Fish and Game desired, and people complained bitterly about lack of fish in the lake, officials said. “We are seeing the catch rates increase as the water temperature is around 60 degrees,” said Keen. “We are hearing of 30 to 70 fish now being caught with a lot of fish weighing 5 to 6 pounds.” Traditionally the fall fishing is the best as the fish prepare for winter by gorging themselves. They also are predictable where they can be caught. The Cliffs, the flats from the A-frame to Duck Creek, Henrys Lake State Park, Staley Springs and Hope Creek have all been good this week. White jigs, Halloween flies and black leech flies with flash in them have been producing some of the larger fish. The DEQ’s release still cautions, “The public should still avoid any isolated areas of algae, which may look like floating white-gray paint, and should contact DEQ at (208) 528-2650 to report any areas of concern.”