Henretta Creek is a small tributary high in the upper Fording River drainage, within the Elk River watershed of the East Kootenay. Provincial survey data confirms the strongest child-creek Westslope Cutthroat Trout population of any upper-Fording side creek surveyed here, but the creek sits above Josephine Falls in water the Region 4 synopsis lists as closed, so it belongs in the conservation and regulation-check file before it belongs in an angling plan.
The water
Henretta carries an official name in the Kootenay Land District, recorded by Natural Resources Canada at 50.228056, -114.871111. It joins the Fording River high in the valley, well above Josephine Falls, inside the same mining-affected drainage that has drawn selenium and calcite monitoring from Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan after waste rock from Fording River Operations and Greenhills Operations leached into the upper Fording system. Glencore/EVR's own upper-Fording monitoring reported roughly 6,800 adult and 17,000 juvenile westslope cutthroat trout across the drainage in 2024, a positive population trend the company frames as recovery context, not an invitation to fish closed water. McQuarrie Creek, a small child creek with its own narrow direct cutthroat signal, flows into Henretta in turn.
The fishing
A provincial fish survey recorded 68 direct westslope cutthroat trout observations on Henretta Creek itself, the strongest child-creek signal of any upper-Fording tributary in this survey, well ahead of neighbouring Ewin Creek (11) and McQuarrie Creek (3). No other species turned up on the direct Henretta record, so treat it as cutthroat water rather than mixed-species habitat until further survey says otherwise. No creek-specific guide coverage exists: Elk River Guiding Company publishes the Fording River mainstem downstream, not this child creek.
Closed water: confirm before you go
Access and the rules
No public trailhead, road or put-in has been confirmed for Henretta Creek. It likely sits off industrial forestry roads tied to Fording River coal operations, similar to its upper-valley neighbours Ewin Creek and McQuarrie Creek, but road status and any seasonal restrictions are unconfirmed. Until both the closure boundary and physical access are confirmed, treat Henretta as a regulation-and-access check rather than a place to plan a day around.
Conditions
- Navigability: no channel-geometry survey has been published for Henretta Creek. Expect a narrow, small headwater tributary typical of the upper-Fording side creeks until a survey says otherwise.
- Stocking: no stocking record. It runs entirely on wild fish.
