Idaho Streams in Late June and Early July

[cpierce]

I visited three Idaho streams in late June and early July. (This was the beginning of my three month long camping trip.) Idaho got a huge snowpack last winter, and it has taken forever for it to melt. What a great year for the fish and farmers both.

Even at the end of June I had a hard time finding streams that weren’t still blown out over their banks. As it was I went way up high on the watersheds to get to fishable water. In some of our drier years the areas I fished with full water now, would be very tiny and have a quarter of the water in them.

Here is the first stream I visited. It’s full bank to bank, but the clarity was great.





The weather was variable, with sun in the morning, clouds at noon, and thunderstorms by afternoon. The fish didn’t seem to mind much.



I was using a Parachute Adams for most of the day until I saw one lonely green drake hatch. After that I switched to a green drake and the fishing exploded. Most of what I caught were 10 to 13 inch cutthroats, but a few were larger.



I lost a couple of fish and then got a really nice one on. That fish ran me all over the creek, upstream, downstream, over the rocks and under the willows. Then he was gone. I had to sit down and catch my breath. He gave me a run to remember. I pulled my fly in to clean it up and found that I had been losing fish because I no longer had a tip to my hook. I am in awe and amazement that I had the last fish on for so long on a worthless hook!




I loved fishing this little creek, but the mosquito population was insane. I camped high on the driest hill I could find, and they still were attacking in battalions. I would leap into my truck as fast as I could and 30 or 40 of the buggers would get in with me. Soon the inside of my truck looked worse than my grill on a bad hopper day. There were squished bugs everywhere. I had good bug spray on, and I wasn’t getting bit, but they were driving me NUTS! So I had to move on to find a more peaceful venue.


A good snowpack and a wet spring are good for the rivers and fish, but it sure brings out the bad in the mosquito population.

To be continued: Tune in again for the next adventure of the crazy summer of 2017.
[signature]

[cpierce]

The next stream that I moved to was lower down, but I think its heaviest water was past. Again it was a small stream that was bank to bank full, but the water was a little cloudier. I think that the cloudy water might be a normal condition for this stream. Its banks were eroded in many places and after each thunderstorm the water got like muddy.

Even with the cloudier water the fish were still spooky. In these small streams I have to use my ninja skills. Just visualize an old lady in camo hiding behind the willows with a fishing rod. LOL

I spent several days in this area, never fishing the same stretch twice. It was all good, with some stretches and days better.

The same weather pattern was still locked in: sun early on, shifting to thunderstorms later. I can’t tell you how many times I was hightailing it off of streams this summer, with lightening pounding all around me. Those buggers can come up fast. I’ve been rained on, hailed on, and nearly drowned as there was so much water in the air!


[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/data/908/medium/DSCF6803a.jpg"][/url]

This stream was only about 30 miles or so from the last one, but apparently these fish were over the green drake thing. They weren’t taking any, but they did like small light mayflies, ants, and caddis imitations.



Still it was a beautiful little meadow stream that had the most colorful and varied cutts I have seen in awhile.





I just wish the camera could have picked up more of the subtle pinks and oranges on the fish’s sides and gill plates.




This poor fish had a cold sore so he wasn’t in his best looks, but he was a beautiful deep orange color all over. It made him look almost brown in this picture.




These next ones also had bright orange bellys and gill plates.




[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/data/908/medium/DSCF6831a.jpg"][/url]

Others were a light steel -grey with pink accents.





I know that this is a lot of pictures, but I am fascinated by the different spotting patterns and colors on our native cutthroats. So here are some different spotting patterns







Sorry, many of my pictures have splashes and aren’t aimed very well. I am using a little point and shoot with no view finder. I can never see the back screen in the sunlight so I really do just guess at where to point it and shoot. Then half the time the fish jumps right out of my hand before I can take it.
All in all it was a beautiful little creek, and it had only half as many mosquitoes as the last one.



[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/data/908/medium/DSCF6829a.jpg"]
[/url]
[signature]

[curt69]

Thanks for sharing, beautiful pictures.
[signature]

[remo_5_0]

Beautiful, Thanks for posting.
[signature]

[hooknhunter]

You always do nice posts. Thanks for sharing that wonderful experience.

On the lighter side, next time post 3-4 months sooner and include gps coordinates so we can take advantage of it. []
[signature]

[cpierce]

[laugh] Thanks, Hooknhunter, but you have too much good fishing over your way already. And I like my fish uneducated by the Internet Hords!

I would have posted this sooner, but I had a hard time finding a tree to plug into up in the mountains. I was in various mountain ranges in Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah from the end of June to the end of September. Not many good Internet connections up there, but the fish don't seem to mind. [cool]

I will slowly do a few more posts from this summer. Enough that you will get sick of seeing pictures my hand holding wet slimy fish! [shocked] [laugh]
[signature]

[windriver]

I really love these posts, especially since these are my favorite type waters all summer long. I too don't post much because I want to protect the small streams.

I think you have set a good example by letting us enjoy the pictures at the end of the season. This year there were some really huge cutts that came out of the lakes and stayed in the streams all summer because of the high water.

Thanks Again

Windriver
[signature]