Trout are Out; Steelhead are In

First cast of the day.

The Lost River range with some freshies.

Cool clouds rolling in at Craters of the Moon.

Today was the last day of regular trout season so I headed to MacKay to hit the Lost up one more time. It was really nice to make the drive by myself--I caught up on some podcasts. The midges were prolific and the baetis were about a size 14. The fishing was fantastic and it was a great day to end the season. I've already pulled out my spey rod and steelhead boxes. Super excited about our awesome steelhead season.

Awesome

I'm pretty sure this was on the Salmon--or at least there are plenty of hoodlems like him out there this year.



I found this on Buster Wants to Fish.

Inglorious Steelheaders

This year the Steelhead Mafia has apparently taken on a new theme, the Inglorious Steelheaders. I think the combination of insane numbers of fish and our new desire to kill the hatchery bastards have influenced our behavior.

Paddy took my crew out last Thursday and they went to town. I think after my dad landed his first steelhead he gave up on all other forms of fishing. Above are a few fish pics, including an awesome whitey.

Neglecting the Blog

I've totally been neglecting the blog for the last couple of weeks, but I guess it's good that I've been too busy to deal with it. My parents were here for a week. We went skiing, ate good food, crafted, and my dad even popped two steelies.

The trout fishing has also been great and I've had a couple of trips and have a few more booked through the month. The midges have not been out for long, but they've been pretty prolific mid afternoon. I've been throwing a size 12 Para Wulff with a size 14 red and black zebra midge and it's been doing the job. I'm hoping to get to MacKay tomorrow and have some bad weather baetis.

We only have about 10 days of trout season left, but the steelhead are here and it's only a few weeks until we have spawning carp on the Snake. Almost all of the snow is melted, unfortunately, but the birds are out and there are signs of come bulbs popping up. Looking forward to a fishy spring...and more consistent blogging.

Yurting

Photos from the Fish Hook yurt last week. It wasn't that fishy, but the skiing was awfully good.

February Fishing

I've been sick, skiing, trying to get my bag business going, and organizing for a fundraiser, so my fishing has truly been neglected. I made it out yesterday for the first time in a couple of weeks and it was great!

Though our snowpack has been poor, there was still lots of snow to post hole through, but hearing fish rising as I got close to the river made it worthwhile. There were a reasonable number of black and tan midges out--the most I've seen this year. I threw a Para Wulff and a size 18 red zebra midge and went to town. The fish photo above is definitely the smallest one of the day, heck, the year, but it was awfully pretty.

It was a great day and I 'm hoping to reduce the time between fishing days since we're heading into March.

Mountain Bucking

My buddy Keith just published a hunting story at Outdoorsman's Pursuit. Only in Idaho would you haul an deer out on a mountain bike. Enjoy.