Tabors On The Fly

Sunday, September 5, 2010

On to Missoula, MT

Crawled out of the sleeping bags at 9am, after the sun had appeared. Broke camp, went in to Stanley to grab some coffee and then headed to Missoula, about 300 miles northeast. The trip took longer than anticipated due to the curving roads that follow the Salmon River most of the way, and the fact that we slowed down in so many spots to play tourist. Moving through forested canyons and mountains, arid canyons and mountains, and everything in between, we are constantly amazed at the impressive scenery at every turn. The last stretch was along the Bitterroot River, and with the fresh snow falling on the peaks of the Bitterroot range, it was a very nice drive in to Missoula. We have checked-in to another small motel, this one near the University of Montana campus. Our brief drive-around this afternoon impressed us enough that we will probably spend a couple of nights here to take care of logistics and see the town before heading back to camp, fish, etc. Besides, there are so many options in this area/state for a fly-fisherman, we need to some planning in order to find the optimum camping/fishing combinations.

Who knew?

Very good lunch. No huckleberry pie as we had read about, but we did indulge in a huckleberry ice cream cone

Parting shots from Stanley

The Stanley area was all that we had heard it would be, and more. But after waking up three straight mornings temps around 28 degrees and mix of snow and rain coming tonight, we shortened our stay here and headed for Missoula, MT a couple of days early. While at our campground, we were entertained by the chinook salmon on their redds, the many osprey tending to the young ones in the nest, and the river otters floating by on their evening feeding forays. We witnessed the osprey diving into the river, and struggling to lift-off after snagging small trout, and then flying/gliding up and down the canyon trying to gain lift enough to reach the nests perched on the tops of power poles. The otters went with the flow as the current carried them downriver, all the while constantly diving in groups of two or three, and resurfacing just long enough to gulp down their prey. One thing we have observed is that more and more folks are travelling with their dogs - and most just have a difficult time observing campground rules regarding keeping the dogs on a leash and picking up after them. The campsite next to us had four dogs that were generally well-behaved and kept on a leash, but were never picked-up after. And we had one instance where we returned to camp to find one dog's leash allowed it within leg-hiking distance of our tent - not cool.

A campfire on the river bank - can it get any better?

This guy catches fish - enough to feed the whole family!

The Kasino Klub - great prime rib and salad bar

Spent a lot of time here

Spent too much time here - fantastic place for breakfast and lunch

Friday, September 3, 2010

Sun Valley/Ketchum

Slooooow to crawl out of the sleeping bags this morning - 28 degrees for the first of several mornings of the same. Today is our day to visit Sun Valley/Ketchum area, the former haunt of Hemingway, home of the Sundance film festival, and some great skiing. It's obvious that some of the rich and famous have homes in this area - a little rich for our blood, but we were in the area so had to see it. It is another beautiful area and has a certain appeal - actually Hailey and Bellevue were more quaint and more to our liking. At the top of my list today was to fish the Nature Conservancy protected area (thanks to Averill Harriman and Jack Hemingway and others) of Silver Creek. After making a few wrong turns and seeing more of the country side than intended, we arrived too late for the fishing, but we did take account of the area. This incredible spring creek will be a future destination for sure, even if the fish are difficult to catch according to some. We watched in the gin clear water as countless wild rainbow trout surfaced all around to sip on the mayflies that were hatching.

So many pretty horses out west

We watched this guy sipping mayflies for some time. Be sure to click on him to get full picture

This little mayfly wanted to go home with us. Actually only about 1/2 inch long

Hemingway memorial in Ketchum

The salmon in the Salmon

Chinook (King) and sockeye salmon travel over 900 miles to spawn in the Salmon River and lakes near Stanley, the longest fish migration in the U.S. We are excited to witness these salmon in the river across from our campsite and at various vantage points along the river. It is nearing the end of the sockeye migration, but another month for the chinooks. These fish travel 20-30 miles each day, and must travel past 8 dams (via fish ladders) and through several reservoirs, losing 30%-50% of their body weight along the way (they don't eat during this journey). The Chinook are the largest of the three Pacific salmon historically native to Idaho. The young smolts being their journey to the Pacific when they are approximately 18 months old and 4 inches long. Their entire downstream trip is tail first and takes 2-3 months, all along the way their body chemistry adjusts to allow them to live in the saltwater. Sadly, 77-96% of the smolts die on their way to the ocean, and only 1/10 of 1% of them will make it back to spawn as adults. They travel thousands of miles in their 3-4 years in the ocean, before returning to their natal streams to spawn. They currently are a threatened species. The sockeye are also known as "redfish" around here. They have a similar cycle as the chinnok, except they only spend 1-2 years in the ocean. At one time, the sockeye returned in the tens of thousands to spawn in Redfish Lake, so named because there were so many they made the lake appear red. In 2007, only 4 returned, but the number this year exceeds a thousand (better, but far from ideal). They are still an endangered species. Currently there is a multi-agency federal/state effort to mitigate the losses of the salmon (and steelhead) on their migratory routes. Part of this is through hatcheries on the Columbia, Snake, and Salmon Rivers. They establish weirs aT specified points to divert the fish to tanks each night. Each morning, the fish are individually netted, and a whole team of biologists capture data, and then release them to complete their spawn - some of each species are kept at the hatchery to artificially spawn, some chinook are returned to the Salmon to continue their upstream journey to spawn, and some of the sockeye are returned to Redfish lake to continue their natural spawning. After the salmon complete their spawn they die and their carcasses deteriorate in the bodies of water, providing valuable nutrients to the current and future inhabitants. Sorry to be so lengthy on this, but this was such an invaluable and interesting lesson to us. And besides, when a species endures such hardships and high mortality rate to live 2-5 years at best, return home, make a little whoopee, provide the beginning of the next generation, only to then die, they deserve any credit and props they can get.

Chinook on their way

Female chinook

Got milt? Male chinook.

Sockeye

diversion weir

Where the Idaho sockeye finish their spawning. Not a bad place for any species to make their last whoopee before dying. Redfish Lake.

Stanley, Idaho

After looking around the Middle Fork, made the trip back to the paved highway and traveled the twenty miles to Stanley. This rustic town of 100 brave souls lies in the middle of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area with fantastic views all around, but specifically the jagged granite peaks of the Sawtooths. We are seeing some night time temps below freezing. Stanley averages more than 286 days each year with temperatures below freezing and is routinely the coldest place in the lower 48 states. But it is fantastic this time of year and we have decided that this is the place to be for 6-7 days. Due to our late arrival on Monday and the cold rain and snow we had driven through, we opted to spend the night in one of the Mom/Pop motels that we enjoy so much - we are in a retro mood sometimes! We then moved to Casino Creek campground 5 miles out of Stanley, so we can get back into this very cool, quaint town, and within driving distance of other places we intend to enjoy. Although we are camping on the Salmon River, the fishing in this stretch is not too exciting - only small stocker rainbows (we think it is stocked enough to feed the dozens of osprey along the river). Note the stream side/roadside "hot tub" that some inventive soul has installed to take advantage of one of the many hot springs in the area.

Redwood Cabins in Lower Stanley

What the heck are you lookin' at??

Hot tub anyone?

Cool ducks, but what kind? Our friend Greg says they are Common Mergansers.

Middle Fork of the Salmon River

Based on recommendations from several friends back home, our intention was to camp at Boundary Creek campground on the Middle Fork of the Salmon. This is a popular launching area for the multi-day rafting trips down this most amazing river/canyon, but we had also been told that it offers hike-in access to some great cutthroat trout fishing. Disappointedly, the campground was closed due to the several fires in the area. This was after we had driven on 24 miles of dirt roads to reach this remote and desirable area, and passing the base-camps for the dozens of firefighters and the airstrip in Bruce Meadow. From talking to the locals and checking the local news, the lightning-sparked fires are an annual occurrence in the west, and particularly in Idaho in the hot, dry summers. Too bad we had to move on because the water that courses through this spectacular canyon is so clean and clear and fishy-looking!