Here in Southeast Idaho, the cool autumn days have virtually left the rivers and streams void of fishing activit as most people head to the hills and forest searching for the elusive big game trophy. Regretfully, I am one of those individuals and as a result lose the opportunity to enjoy some of the wonderous fall fishing. I think I need to change my ways since so many hunting trips end with dissapointment of never seeing anything worthy of a flyfishing trip on any Idaho river/stream. I'll spend the next 6 months dreaming about fishing and waiting for the next opportunity to catch some trout. Maybe it'll give me some time to tie flies and quite relying on the often poorly crafted store bought flies that fall apart after one fish or twenty casts.
As a final note, after spending as much time outdoors as possible, I have noticed that in the past 10 years much has changed - there are less trout in the streams (for example, Cottonwood Creek by our family ranch used to be loaded with Bonneville Cutthroat Trout but the last time we went we saw a big zero) and there are far fewer trophy big game in the mountains (in a place where we used to see trophy mule deer and 40-50 deer in one spot, we saw none). Granted, some of the lack of game may be to my own deficiencies, but I would bet that the natural world that so many cherish and which brings renewal to our souls is quickly diminishing to the point of no return. Between cattle grazing, ATV's, stream dewatering, and other things, there won't be much left for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. Take a stand wherever you may be and preserve what's left of our natural resources.
