Late August

My dad, my wife, and I spent Friday afternoon catching some cutthroats on a beautiful mountain stream. Overall it was a great day except the biggest fish we caught was 14". There were a lot of fish in the 8-10" range and a ton of minnows in the water. We haven't received any rain this summer so the water was a little below normal so the big fish likely went back to the reservoir. The Hopper/Dropper combo was the best way to go again with most fish taking the dropper.

Loss of Summer

Summer has come to a quick and resolute end with way too many days worked and way too many waters left unfished. My legal work has consumed most of my days and trying to repair a home has consumed the rest of the weekends. My priorities have all been clustered among the wrong things. I finally did get to go out for about an hour on Friday night on Cottowood Creek - a tributary of the Bear River in Southeast Idaho. I caught three (2 - 12" and 1 - 10") Bonneville cutts. Cottonwood Creek used to be gem of a stream but overfishing, questionable water transfers and continued disconnection with the Bear River have created a stream that suffers greatly from dewatering and the loss of the native run of Bear River cutts. A tragedy. It almost seems impossible just to get a fish screen on the diversion. A grew up (and my grandfather and father) fishing this little stream and the lack of fish is disheartening. But at least there were three. Take advantage of the last days of summer - I plan to and hopefully land a few 20+".

Upper Blackfoot

As you can probably tell the Blackfoot River is probably my favorite place to fish. On July 4 we fished in the morning and early afternoon and although it wasn't the wildest of days we caught a fair number of fish (~30) between my dad and me and probably half were 10"-16". ALmost all cutts but we did catch one pure rainbow and a few hybrids. I landed a 20" cutthroat - the Snake River cutts are beautiful - pic forthcoming. The Combo: hopper/dropper - the biggest cutt took the hopper off the surface - what a rush!! Fishing has been good in July. Good luck keeping the waters from haunting your dreams!

Blackfoot River

Opneing day on the Blackfoot River was ok. I caught quite a few fish but mostly 6-10" trout. I did catch one 14" cutthroat and missed a few bigger ones. My dad caught a few bigger cutthroats and a couple of nice rainbows. We might go back tomorrow. Best combo: ParaHopper/Dropper (beaded prince's nymph or hares ear)

Warm River

This last Saturday we went to the Warm River near Ashton, Idaho off the Bear Gulch parking area. The morning was a little stormy and cool but by mid afternoon it was a beautiful day. I caught 10-15 fish but only one 10" Brown. The rest were rainbows between 6" and 10" . I caught the majority on bead head prince nymphs and a few on a yellow stimulator (imitating the small golden stones that were on a few of the rocks). Overall it was a pretty slow day and a poor day for larger fish. The Warm River never has had the highest fish count compared to other rivers but it is a beautiful spring creek that drops through an impressive canyon. There are alot of deep holes that likley hold some nice trout if you could just get them to rise. Here's a picture of the Warm through one of the rapid stretches in the canyon.

Opening Weekend

The rivers and streams continue to roar with runoff and likely will continue to roar for a couple more weeks. It looks like the weather will be warm and sunny which will help quicken the runoff. We went fishing Saturday of opening weekend on Winder Reservoir with our family trying to hook into a little panfish action but the weather was cold, windy, rainy, and downright miserable so we didn't last more than one half hour. Hopefully the next few weekends will be better and the fly hatches will be thick. Good fishing.

Spring Runoff

That's right - spring is finally overcoming winter in SE Idaho this week. We have had flood warnings on one of the local rivers with alot of snow still to melt in the high country. The benefit of the high water and runoff is for the first time in years the streams and rivers will be flushed of all of the sediment and moss providing a clean stream bed for spawning trout. Fishing should be great this year!!!

Winters end?

After a few month hiatus I return in anticipation of a great fishing season in 2006. The snowpack here in Idaho is above normal which bodes well for trout fisheries. There will likely be significant runoff this year to flush the stream systems and produce excellent late summer fishing. Winter has felt like an eternity this year and spring will bring a welcome energy that has been missing for months.

Any thoughts on Public Land be sold by the federal government? Terrible idea - one of the great things about Idaho is our public land and the open and free access we have to millions of acres of wild land. Land along streams will be the first to go and fishing access will be diminished unless the public land sale is halted. Watch out if Dirk Kempthorne is appointed as Secretary of Interior. We also need to stop Butch Otter from becoming the Governor of this State or we will have no public land left. Comments welcome.

Blackfoot River Cutt

Here is a photo of one of the beautiful Yellowstone Cutts caught on the Blackfoot River this fall.

Last Days of Autumn

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.

Upper Blackfoot

My father and I went back to the upper BLackfoot again this last weekend and after suffering through a cold-wet morning where our hands were so stiff that tying on a fly was a 20 minute task, we caught probably around 50 fish - mostly 8-12" cutts. We also landed two 20" inch cutts, two 17" rainbows and a couple of cutts in the 15-17" range. Overall, it was another great day of fly fishing. There is nothing better than to hear the line zipping of the reel as a native cutthroat rips downstream.

Upper Blackfoot

Saturday morning my dad and I went to the Blackfoot river and had an amazing day of fishing. We caught probably 60+ fish between the two of us between 8-24". I landed one 24 inch cutthroat and a 22 inch cutthroat and lost a rainbow that was even bigger than the 24" cutt. A lot of the fish were in the 8-12" range but there was a fair number of larger fish as well. It was an awesome day. One to log into the memory books to be recalled whenever the big fish story rises to the occasion. We caught all the fish on bead-headed prince nymphs and hares ears; and hoppers (para hoppers with tan/cream/yellow bodies)

Small Stream excellence

Two weekends ago I went to central Idaho for the weekend and spent some time fishing one of Idaho's gems - a small 'unnamed' mountain stream. After enduring a few thunderstorms, my father and I caught a few beautiful 10 inch cutthroats with vibrant colors. We also ran into a few steelhead smolt. The highlight of the trip was when I hooked into a 24+ inch trout in a deep hole amidst the dense pine-covered stream. We fought for about 20 minutes when after about a 30 yard run downstream in fast, brushy water, my line snapped. Thrill and dissappointment - everything a fly fisherman lives for and everything that keeps me going back for more every chance I get.

Upper Blackfoot River

For the first time in years there was actually water in the upper Blackfoot. Water tempatures were fairly warm and, with the hot weather coming these next weeks, will likely get warmer. FIshing was ok. Between my father and I, we caught 18-20 trout, mostly in the 8-10 inch range but a few 16-20 inchers and I lost one that was likely 20+. Most of the larger fish were rainbows with a few cutts. The hoppers are out now so don't go on the stream without a stockpile of hoppers.

Eastern Idaho Streams

Streams in Eastern Idaho by Wyoming are still high with runoff/thunderstorms and will propbably not be fishable for a few more weeks. On Wednesday we went to one stream and say little activity on the water although there were many caddis and stoneflies on the bushes. Water was still murky and high. FIshing in July might actually be good this year.

Delayed fishing season

Rain continues to fall in SE Idaho. It's even cold enough to snow during this first full week of June. Many of the rivers are still murky with runoff and thunderstorm water but it looks like next week will be awesome for fishing. Hopefully, the plentitude of rain will continue so fish will once again have water in streams. Most activity so far has been subsurface - nymphs and streamers. Good luck on your next trip.

Opening Weekend

I spent opening Saturday morning fishing the Warm River about 2-3 miles above the Campground. Overall fishing was slow with a few fish caught (seven - myself; six - my dad) , but we both caught a couple above 14 inches with one nice cuttbow over 16 that was between 2-3 pounds. Many of the smaller rivers and streams in SE Idaho are still high and murky with runoff and thunderstorm water. Two weeks from now should be spectacular.

Nightmares

The elusive weeks before fishing season opens are a tortious experience for a flyfisherman. Daily checks on fishing conditions and idle chat with the local fly shops only fire an already out of control blaze within the soul. There is nothing better than standing knee deep in an icy stream casting for the rising adversary. Images of fly water and rising trout permanently engrave themselves upon my soul every time I step into the water - the hope of catching a trout in the next hole keeps the fire burning year round. One and a half weeks before opening - hopefully the fire doesn't consume my soul before the first fly hits the water...

Rain

It has been raining pretty steadily here in SE Idaho for the last couple of weeks bringing water levels closer to normal amounts. Why is this important? One word - RUNOFF. Many of the streams that I have fished recently have been full of sediment and trout need clean river rock streams to survive and spawn. Hopefully all of this rain will keep runoff levels high enough to flush Idaho's streams and improve fishing this year. Opening day is in two weeks!

Will the evironment and the last wild places in America survive the Bush Administration? Bush recently revoked the Roadless Area Rule which provided significant protection for the last roadless areas in the U.S. Now the decision to protect or exploit roadless areas falls to local state governments (specifically the governor) and local forest managers. Hopefully local forest managers will protect roadless areas and their pristine states but there is no guarantee that the forest managers won't give in to industry and forget the individual that uses the area for solitude. In Idaho, many of the roadless areas are refuges for wildlife and contain spawning grounds for many of Idaho's endangered and threatened fish species. Big game animals use roadless areas as a resort to escape hunting pressure. In many areas the quality of Big Game herds has diminshed greatly, mostly due to increased access via ATV's.

Will there ever be a place on our planet where a person can reach solitude? Or will we constantly be surrounded by the roar of gasoline powered engines? Will we ever see record big game or a restoration of trout fisheries? With the current pressure from ATV users and the deregulation of roadless areas, there may never again be areas that offer the type of seclusion, and trophy big game and fish, that was enjoyed just ten years ago.

Wouldn't it be great if government actually looked after the best interest of the majority instead of the specific interests of industry? Maybe its a sign of the times - government corruption swayed by big money and little else.