Rene Harrop: True Learning Comes from the Water

Few people have inspired and meant so much to so many as the American flyfishing legend, industry insider, outdoors writer and fly tyer extraordinaire, René Harrop. A bottomless well of wisdom, René resides in Montana where he spends his time catching finicky and selective, wild rainbow trout on flies that he has conceptualized and perfected over the years. 

We’ve had a word with René about what there is to learn from fully focusing on and immersing oneself in one river (The Henry’s Fork); what can be done to get kids and adolescents into fly fishing; and much, much more…

BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF

How did you get started fly fishing and when? 

I began fly fishing in the early 1950’s by watching my father. Dad gave me a nine foot bamboo rod with about four inches broken from the tip in 1954. I fished with a willow and no reel prior to that time. 

What is it that intrigues  you about fly fishing? 

I like the way fly fishing forces me to observe, think, and to concentrate. Each individual trout represents a new experience and no two are ever exactly the same. 

Ideally, fly fishing is a one on one encounter with an elusive opponent that must first be found and then dealt with on terms that are established by the fish. Each situation carries a distinct set of problems that must be solved both intellectually and physically. 

The level of pressure is determined by the degree of difficulty attached to the engagement, and the trout that win provide the strongest motivation for growth.

“To see the fish take the fly and then feel its weight is enough to tell me that I have done everything right, and that is all the satisfaction I need”.

What goes through your head  when you’re out fly fishing? 

To be truly effective as a fly fisher one must approach the game with a clear mind. Allowing even minor distraction when engaged with a fish will work against you. A mental mistake can be as costly as a bungled cast, and full concentration must be applied from start to finish if one hopes to find his adversary in the net.

What characterizes the most rewarding moments as a fly fisherman? 

There are many ways to fish an artificial fly, and I enjoy them all. However, I am most happy when engaged with a particularly resistant trout that is feeding on the surface. For me nothing is more stimulating than a standoff that may extend for as long as an hour during which I am compelled to give my best effort.

To see the fish take the fly and then feel its weight is enough to tell me that I have done everything right, and that is all the satisfaction I need.

What is your favourite species to target on a fly rod and why? 

I live in trout country so naturally I am attached to the brown trout and brook trout that share that share the waters of the Yellowstone region with cutthroat, our native trout. However, more than six decades of dealing with the defiant rainbows of the Henry’s Fork has brought about a level of respect and appreciation for this species that has not been surpassed. 

Henry’s Fork rainbows are unique in attaining considerable size while continuing to survive mainly on insects throughout their lifespan. This means that the largest rout in the river will be a candidate for a well-fished dry fly at some point. My own personal best is a rainbow in excess of twenty six inches that took a size 16 floating pattern only four years ago. 

You’ve fished the Henry’s Fork your whole life. What is it that fascinates you about this particular river? 

While the Henry’s Fork is most known for the slow, wide, and shallow currents that characterize the fly only water of the Harriman Ranch, there is much more to this world-famous trout stream. 

Though its length is more than eighty miles, the Henry’s Fork is a river of extreme diversity. Beginning small at its spring-fed source, the river is ever changing as it gathers volume from other springs and numerous tributaries on the way to the confluence with the Snake River.

Undulating through changing terrain and elevation, it can seem as many rivers as it courses through pine forest and open meadows where its flow may be wide, slow, and gentle or surging through narrow stretches of intimidating rapids. Ever growing, as it courses through deep canyons and over spectacular falls, the Henry’s Fork leaves mountainous terrain and runs across the vast Snake River Plain.

Although my days on the Henry’s Fork number in the thousands I have not fished it all, and there are many lessons left to be learned.

“I earned my place in the profession of fly tying by observing the aquatic insects of the Henry’s Fork and then translating their images into fly patterns that perform the task of tempting some of the most selective trout in the world”. 

What’s it like to fish a certain river for as long as you have fished the Henry’s Fork? 

To have a river as magnificent as the Henry’s Fork close by is to live in a condition of happiness, if you are a fly fisherman. Time and distance are never a factor in determining whether I can fish on any given day, and only prohibitive weather keeps me away from the water. 

Few men can work and raise a family while still enjoying more than a hundred days each year on the water. The two homes I own are separated by about forty miles but both are only a few hundred yards from the Henry’s Fork. 

This gives the ability to leave work and catch the best hour of a special event like a Green Drake hatch before returning to the responsibility of making a living. 

Who has changed more – you or the Henry’s Fork? 

Because we have existed together for so many years, it is quite likely that the changes in my life and who I am has been dictated by the fortunes of the Henry’s Fork. 

I began in the business of fly fishing nearly fifty years ago with the Henry’s Fork as the basis of my entry. The highs and lows of my professional life have mirrored the ability of the Henry’s Fork to attract those who support my livelihood. In general, the river has a sustained history as a great producer of trout but there have been periods when factors such as draught or human caused problems have affected its productivity. When the fishery suffers we in the industry suffer as well, and we prosper together in good times. 

Certainly, I am a different person now than when I first fished the Henry’s Fork as a young boy. However, I can still walk the banks and wade its flows with the same enthusiasm that existed in the beginning more than sixty years ago. 

What is there to learn from fishing  a certain river year after year? 

Every river holds its own secrets, but I believe a river like the Henry’s Fork holds more than most. Few rivers possess the diversity of trout sustaining organisms or offer equal opportunity to understand the essence of what true fly fishing is all about. 

I earned my place in the profession of fly tying by observing the aquatic insects of the Henry’s Fork and then translating their images into fly patterns that perform the task of tempting some of the most selective trout in the world. 

What other places do you enjoy to fish?

I believe that true learning in fly fishing can come only from the water, and many of the lessons I have learned from the Henry’s Fork with respect to the interaction between trout and their food sources can be transferred to other waters as well. 

Although I have fished as far away as Japan, most of my fishing has been limited to waters much closer to my home state of Idaho. I have been charmed by the waters of Yellowstone, and the Fire Hole is something special. Rivers just outside the Park include the Madison, Gallatin, Yellowstone, Big Horn, Snake , and Green are well known to most fly fishers, and I have enjoyed them all 

More distant are the Missouri in Montana and Silver Creek in central Idaho, and I can fish for steelhead in the Salmon, about two hundred miles away. And any spring creek is to be loved. I have always enjoyed still waters but my interest in lake fishing has deepened in the last decade or so. Hebgen, Henry’s, and Sheridan Lakes are less than an hour from my summer home and each receives consistent attention from June through October. 

Your whole family fishes. Any tips on getting youngsters into the sport? 

I learned to love the water as a young child when my father’s extended family would gather for big streamside picnics. It is in that same way that my own children, grandchildren, and now great grandchildren have become introduced to its magic. 

Sunday picnics on the Henry’s Fork begin in the spring as soon as the river is free of ice. Being close to the water becomes a normal feature of life when they are babies and fishing becomes available as quickly as they are big enough to hold a spinning rod. 

The little ones of our family have all caught fish on bait well before they have achieved the physical development required to handle a fly rod. Usually by age eight or nine they have learned that fishing is fun and fly fishing has followed as a natural progression within the family unit. 

It may come as a surprise to some that even the adults in our family may resort to spinning rods and bait while snow remains on the banks of the river and the water is too cold for a hatch of any kind. 

From the beginning, our fishing seasons have begun around a campfire in late February or March when the long winter has yet to become a memory. I am convinced that traditions like this hold a family together more strongly than any indoor activity could ever accomplish. 

Of course, when the time comes for advancement in fly fishing, there is plenty of expertise provided to each individual child. 

If you could be anywhere in the world right now fly fishing, where would you be – and why? 

Right now, I am looking at snow that has been falling since yesterday. The temperature is well below freezing and the river is choked with ice. These conditions take fishing out of the picture for now, but there is no sadness in this temporary separation from the water. 

While fishing is my primary outdoor interest, I hold almost equal passion for hunting. The weather so prohibitive for fishing is actually ideal for hunting deer or waterfowl. Both of these activities keep me close enough to the river to retain connection to one of the most important aspects of my life.

The Henry’s Fork is central to my existence and its culture is more than just fishing. This is ancestral homeland to which I am instinctively connected. The footprints of my Native American ancestors lie in the same trails I walk along the river and they have been there for thousands of years. To fish right now would mean considerable travel, and I simply do not want to leave. 

The weather is sure to moderate at some near point and I will again be wading the water that I love.  Meanwhile, I am content to just wait.