08-31-2010, 03:29 AM
The whole family (12 of us) decided to make a family camping fishing trip to the Sawtooth Mountain. Due to not knowing the area well and the size of the group we had, we decided we need to make a last minute decision on a campsite and the only one we found for that size of group was at Bull Trout Lake (No we did not catch any Bull Trout so lets not go there) in the Boise National Forest. The day after we made the reservation we learn of the fire between Stanley and our campsite. They had at one point closed the road and evacuated the campsite we were going to stay in. None the less we went anyway and had a great time. Our campsite was on Martin Lake which is a small lake just west of Bull Trout Lake.
After we set up our camp we grabbed the fishing poles and headed to the lake. First cast with a fly and a bubble I had my first planter rainbow on. Me and two for my sons ended up catching enough fish for our evening meal of these 8 to 12" bows.
The second morning I got up and again caught two or three fish in the few minutes before breakfast. Then it was off to Stanley to try and call my daughter and her husband before they left home. We would have to wait at the fire area between 10 and 20 minutes before being shuttled through the area with a pilot car. Needless to say we didn't get much done the second day but going to Stanley and helping late arrivals get their camps setup. I went down after dinner and again caught a couple more before dark.
The third day everyone wanted to go to Stanley Lake so we drove over there and spent the afternoon. I did not catch any fish there but my sons caught a few rainbows in the 12 -14" range using Jake's spin-a-lures.
The next day my wife, Daughter-in-law and two grand kid headed for home. The rest stayed and went to Hell Roaring Lake and again caught about the same size of fish are we had at other places. My son had one fish on at this lake that was big but lost it before he got a look at it.
Bottom Line: Great food, good company and some fishing too. We may do it again some day! We didn't take any photos of any of the fish but I will include a couple of the area. One last thing to mention is the wolves and the Babies howled all night the whole time we were there. The camp host said the wolves had killed a cow elk near our campgroud and we heard them every night we were there.
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After we set up our camp we grabbed the fishing poles and headed to the lake. First cast with a fly and a bubble I had my first planter rainbow on. Me and two for my sons ended up catching enough fish for our evening meal of these 8 to 12" bows.
The second morning I got up and again caught two or three fish in the few minutes before breakfast. Then it was off to Stanley to try and call my daughter and her husband before they left home. We would have to wait at the fire area between 10 and 20 minutes before being shuttled through the area with a pilot car. Needless to say we didn't get much done the second day but going to Stanley and helping late arrivals get their camps setup. I went down after dinner and again caught a couple more before dark.
The third day everyone wanted to go to Stanley Lake so we drove over there and spent the afternoon. I did not catch any fish there but my sons caught a few rainbows in the 12 -14" range using Jake's spin-a-lures.
The next day my wife, Daughter-in-law and two grand kid headed for home. The rest stayed and went to Hell Roaring Lake and again caught about the same size of fish are we had at other places. My son had one fish on at this lake that was big but lost it before he got a look at it.
Bottom Line: Great food, good company and some fishing too. We may do it again some day! We didn't take any photos of any of the fish but I will include a couple of the area. One last thing to mention is the wolves and the Babies howled all night the whole time we were there. The camp host said the wolves had killed a cow elk near our campgroud and we heard them every night we were there.
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