Month: April 2019

Hot damn today was wicked. We floated from Avery to Marble Creek. I’m doing these floats in order to have enough river time to be certified as a guide for it. I’ll be done Thursday.

The float was long, and the water was big. Around 5 G’s. Some viv rollers and gnarly hydraulics at that flow. The water had good streamer green clarity of about 4 feet. The water temp was 41-42. So troots are still sleepy. But they weren’t in the slow walking speed water deep. No they were deep on the big seams and drop offs near hydraulics and big fat eddys. We found a handful on nymphs and streamers but it was definitely slow and still wintery.

I’m of course falling in love with this river. It’s a little rugged and rough up here, theres some big water this time of year, which I like a lot, and the cutties are absolutley gorgeous and so much different than the Yak westslope. I’m not fishing, I’m rowing, taking it all in. I’ll fish later when I know it will be better, my only focus right now is learning, trying to understand, and deciphering this freestone wild river. Familiraizing myself with the access points, the shuttle drivers, the locals. Getting to know my new coworkers and gather and absorb as much info from them as I can.

I’m very much looking forward to bouncing between two rivers this year. The Yakima and the St. Joe. Two rivers on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of western troot rivers. The yak a tailwater, very pressured system, with irrigation water, salmon pulses, lots of anglers, tougher technical fishing, with some of the most persnickety trout I’ve ever met.

To the St. Joe, a freestone, wild river, with a massive population of Westslope that puts the Yakima to shame in terms of just numbers alone. They are cutties, they are numerous, and they like to eat flies here. The water is big and swollen in the spring the flood plane here is saturated and amazing to look at on the drives up and down the basin. The tributary streams are so frequent I’m in heaven with all the places I can start to discover on my own. They also have bulltrout here…and it’s legal to fish for them….seriously friends of mine told me of never want to leave this river and they aren’t far off after my first impressions. The way this river changes over the year, oh the stories it will tell me, the secrets I will learn, the trout I will meet and introduce anglers to.

This has been a dream of mine since I started fishing, to guide other rivers. I never set out to only guide the Yakima, it is near and dear to me, my homewater, and a place I have learned intimately and will always guide anglers on. But expanding, exploring, discovering, and sharing other rivers, waters, and fish with more anglers.

I’ll be back on the Yak Thursday night and have Friday through Sunday open. Weather is looking good, flows are stable, and fish should be hungry pre and post spawn. The St. Joe isn’t quite ready yet…but soon.

Tamarack.

As many know I have the opportunity to guide the St. Joe River in Idaho this year. Today was my first day of certification on the river. Here in Idaho a guide must work for a licensed outfitter or obtain an outfitter permit and a permit for a open section of river. The stretch I will be learning and working on is from Avery to Mile Marker 16 I believe. I’ve only fished above Avery several years ago for a day. So this is all new to me.

The Yakima blew out and the weather was craptastic and I was at a loss to what to do with myself since the weather was crap for the bass lakes too. The Whitepine Outfitters Crew was floating Sunday and I decided to join my new outfitter crew and headed for the St. Joe.

I was given a drop pin and told to meet at 8:15 am at some take out near Caulder ID. I left Spokane at 4 am and made it to the meet point an hour early. I napped in the car and the crew showed up around 9 am. Literally meet on a door road outside a podunk town near the river. No cell service once I got out of St. Marie’s so I a little worried at first. But its guide time so nothing is ever on schedule. The days shenanigans were only just starting.

We met up, I got to meet a lot of new people, many I had been told about through stories from river peeps. I was first amazed and intrigued by the small tight knit community here, and how everyone knows everyone. I was greeted with open and welcoming arms by everyone today.

Then we all got turned around trying to follow our leader as he hauled ass out of view to the put in. We ended up passing each other a few times as we played tag with the three rigs and trailers all trying to end in the same place. We made it at about 10:30 am.

Then it was time to launch boats. The put in at The former Cutthroat Lodge was a bit of a doozy, dropping and sliding the boats down a rather steep bramble covered bank. Hog slid into the St. Joe like she was hungry to eat up the current.

Then we had some issues about where exactly we were taking out. And on the way to the take out, a few range boulder took out the passenger side front tire of our shuttle driver rig. We spent the better part of 45 minutes using three different jacks to put this donut on. Finally at the take out around 11:30 am.

We meet back up at the boats, everyone else has been waiting a while, and we finally are floating by 12:05 PM.

Its pissing rain, the water is up around 5 grand, and it’s got 15 inches of vis. Streamer water. We hook one on the streamer not to far in.

The tiger is big, swollen, legs floating down river bumping the boat, the brambles and submerged and the river is a slow powerful boil in most places. It’s beautiful and so much different than the Yak. We see BWOs and some MBs, we see feeders, but we are mostly talking about fishing philosophy, guiding, the river, and getting to know each other while sharing stories, beers, and herb.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been a part of a guide crew and after 1 day with this one, I already feel at home. These people up here are some of the nicest and most polite kind people I’ve met. They love the owner of the outfit and I was introduced to everyone as part of the crew. It was a great first impression, even with the shenanigans.

I’m so looking forward to this jeep guiding opportunity. This river is so far on the other end of the spectrum from the Yak. Freestone, big water, lots of bugs, and more westslope cutthroat then I could dream for. Plus, theres just 4 guides that work this stretch, and I am fortunate enough…somehow! To be one of them.

I cant wait to explore this river more, guide it, share it, and be able to finally guide more than just the Yakima…I will always love and guide the Yakima for as long as I am a guide…but this place…ya…I could lose myself here.

Day 2 tomorrow.

Tamarack