With only about 36 hours left in the United States, my good friend Ben Gourlay is cramming as much of the Wood River Valley into his system as he can.  Luckily, a trip to Silver Creek made the list on Monday and he made the most of it.

Ben leaves Wednesday morning for a 27 month trip to Mongolia as a member of the Peace Corps, and where he ends up in the country is still a mystery, the thoughts of Taiman, Lenok, and Grayling will hopefully be apart of his adventure of a lifetime.

Thanks again for the day Ben, be safe, and Silver Creek will be awaiting your return.

]]> http://silver-creek.com/blogs/flyfishing/2012/05/28/next-stop-mongolia-5/feed/ 0 http://silver-creek.com/blogs/flyfishing/2012/05/28/next-stop-mongolia-5/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/flyfishingsunvalley/~3/PNp5KAwFDz4/ http://silver-creek.com/blogs/flyfishing/2012/05/28/creek-opener/#comments Tue, 29 May 2012 02:50:49 +0000 Huskey http://silver-creek.com/blogs/flyfishing/?p=2432
Something about opening days and rain at Silver Creek seem to bring the two together often in recent years. The showers however did not deter the many anglers who where excited to cast to fish on the first day of the new season.

A familiar sight to many, the sing up page at the Nature Conservancy cabin allows the public to access the heart of Idaho’s Silver Creek.

Next time you are at the cabin, step inside and check out the information about all the habitat the preserve offers for such a variety of wildlife.

Certainly a starring character in the vast variety of the creek, high quality trout like this bring anglers from around the globe.

The Nature Conservancy hosted a great BBQ and open house for anglers and visitors out braving the cold wet elements of opening day.

No doubt, under the covered deck at the cabin was the place to be. Cold beers, hot BBQ, and even dessert for all who wandered by.

The snow line crept low over Picabo as showers drenched early spring foliage.

Raptors are common throughout the preserve.

Osprey were finding fish no problem, us anglers had to work a little harder.

Mule deer buck working on his impressive antler rack for the year. Strong eye-guards and out past his ears already, he will be one sharp looking buck this fall.

Western Tanager’s are busy with their social life in creek side aspen thickets.

Rain or shine, the trout are always there and looking for a meal. Not much dry fly action as of yet, but many around the campfire this weekend speculate we will see strong hatches of abnormally large dries this year. Sign me up!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Freestone options begin on the Big Wood.

Spring creek fishing on Silver Creek.

Drift boat fishing on area tail waters.

Stillwater calm of high alpine lakes and reservoirs.

Off the grid.

Coming into shape soon. Copper Basin, Headwaters and Main Salmon, upper reaches of Wood.

“100 trout. They’re all cool. They’re all gorgeous. There’s a long Paul Harvey behind every one of them. The eats are all memorable, some of the fights are too. It’s a short relationship with fish we catch & release, and I’ll admit, I’m clingy. I hate good byes.

I snap photos when I can. While the fish is recovering and just before it’s gone forever my camera and I work quickly to grab that moment. Those moments are worth remembering, and these photos help me go there again.

I hope you enjoy them too. Thanks for coming along.”
~Bryan Huskey

Busted out of the Blaine County bubble to visit the family in Santa Cruz and was fortunate to book a day with Mike Costello.  He literally wrote the book on flyfishing in the California Delta, and again did not disappoint.  Always fun to throw 9wt rods with I-lines and sinks, a real departure from the lighter weight stuff we are familiar with around here.  Nice job Mike and hope to see you again real soon.

Also, any day that ends with a double-double from In-N-Out can’t be all bad.  Don’t order your fries “animal style”, makes them too soggy and I think my heart stopped twice on the ride home.

Only 20 days till the opener and will see you down there.

Snowpack and Water Update – 4/9/2012

March was our 4^th wettest month since 1967.  6½ feet of snow (79.5”)  fell on top of Baldy throughout the month of March (much was rain below 7,000’), yet it brought a below average winter season to near average levels.  The Big Wood River snowpack on March 1^st stood at 79% of normal and rose to 98% by April 1^st; compared to those same dates last year which started with 80% and climbed to 101%.

The snowpack continued to build through the spring last year, climbing to 123% in May and 161% in June.  Last June was awash in high water with the exception of Silver Creek.  This year the precipitation forecast is trending toward average for May and June, which along the current trend line should yield good water levels to chase trout this June.

Skooter Gardiner

How much is too much? Well that depends on how fast it melts!

Links to  related stories:

ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/ID/snow/watersupply/bor/2012/borid412.pdf

It’s almost New Years for trout of the Big Wood and other area waters. Another split or two in the pec fins, a few dozen new spots on the back and maybe even another inch or so between the tail and the nose. The fishing season has come to a close on many area rivers now as wild trout around here begin to spawn. A few months from now when anglers return to the water again over Memorial Day weekend, the dark timber and avalanche chutes of the valley’s north slopes should be free of snow and greening with grass.

It was a decent winter to be a fly fishermen here in the valley. Many days over the past months provided conditions even the dry flies found acceptable, along with a few days when the water stayed just warm enough to help fly line flow through the guides and not freeze. Plenty of sturdy rainbows and also a few browns came to hand for a quick pit stop and release. We appreciate these fish, and feel a sense of pride call these trout locals, and call this place home.

Thanks Wood River Valley, your winter fishing was great.

We were all excited to hit the water. The mosaic of marsh and brackish water created a seemingly endless maze of channels and wandering shorelines. Red fish habitat as far as the eyes could see. This important habitat is shrinking however, and later on in this series we’ll discuss that matter.

Beats oars!

Monday morning and after 6:30 breakfast and rigging our gear we hit the ramp and were off to search for red fish. Two veteran Delta guides would be showing us around, Captain Ryan Lambert  of Cajun Fishing Adventures and Captain Gregg Arnold have been fishing these waters for decades. They know all the in’s and out’s of finding fish in this neck of the woods.

Creeping along, all eyes scanned for signs of fish.

As the guide quietly push-poled the boat along, everyone scanned the water for disturbances indicating fish movement. Subtle wakes referred to as “pushes” revealed where fish were and which direction they were moving. Water clarity was a major issue, as the flows of the Mississippi rose over ten feet in the days just prior to our arrival. Between the influx of muddy Mississippi water pushing down the delta and sediment laden brown water from off-shore dredging coming in on the tides, the visibility of the water we were fishing was a few inches at best. Far from ideal and adding a great challenge to targeting and casting to fish.

Sliding along via Captain Lambert and his push pole.

You can’t order conditions, and the scenario of such dirty water was offset by the pleasure of very calm winds and perfect temperatures. It was a trade off of fishing conditions I think we all were happy to work with.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gearing up for red fish and black drum on the pool-side deck at Cajun Fishing Adventures..

Well Dr. Robert Franklin “The Doc” still gets out and fishes often. I was fortunate enough to join him on a fishing trip a world away from his adopted home waters of Idaho’s Silver Creek. Silver Creek Outfitters fly shop manager Dave Faltings, his wife and fellow SCO guide Renee Faltings and myself joined Doc and his grandson in-law Justin Reynolds in search of red fish and black drum on the Mississippi Delta.

We met up with Doc & company  at  Ryan Lambert’s Cajun Fishing Adventures smack in the middle of red fish paradise. The weather was unbeatable with calm winds and temps in the low 80′s, and the  accommodations made this “work trip” very easy to handle!

Doc had fished with Ryan in the past, last year in fact when he and his SCO guide and companion Pete Wood made the trip they had a blast. Doc had to get back  in the action again, and this year added ourselves and the cameras to the party. Pete is hard at work studying law at Boise State University, so was unable to make the trip this year.

The Mississippi River Delta of southern Louisiana is a sprawling maze of marsh lands.

Gorgeous ages-old live oak trees provide canopies of shade.

Come along with us, and follow more photos and the rest of the story in upcoming posts.

The most 'epic' marmot photo you'll see all day!

My “stomping grounds” are nothing more than a small oval drawn on a map of the United States, a mere dot on the face of  the globe. Small and insignificant on paper. But when a boot hits the ground in these places that I call home, small and insignificant can only be applied to the person standing in those boots, out in the fresh air and kicking around the west.

Only smattered with water, this high desert region is relatively arid. Watersheds that may span the boarders of three states and millions of acres in order to produce one small stream, provide precious habitat for a wide variety of fish and wildlife. Lucky for the angler, that spectrum of fish can include a variety of trout.

Seemingly generous by nature, many of the trout in these waters share a propensity for looking up. Myself a junkie for the casual rise of a confident fish, it’s been years since I’ve attached a strike indicator.