2022

"During my addled career as a trout fisherman I have gone on a lot of wild-goose chases, and I ruefully expect to go on a lot more before I hang up my waders." – John D. Voelker With the long days of summer upon us, it is a good time to chase the wild goose. Some of our freestone rivers...

"Trout waters can be very personal places. The best trout streams are the ones you grow up with and then grow old with. Eventually they become like a familiar shotgun, or a faithful old setter, or a comfortable pair of shoes." – Gordon MacQuarrie This is a good week to visit a familiar trout stream or get to know a...

"Tough fishing stretches you, provides you with skills and confidence for a thousand lesser moments–and it eggs you on to take great chances. It’s not just courage that’s required, of course, but some knowledge of the kinds of major tactics that can be necessary on a trout stream, and then a perfection of the skills needed to enact them." –...

"Were it not for the strong, quick life of rivers, for their sparkle in the sunshine, for the cold grayness of them under rain and the feel of them about my legs as I set my feet hard down on rocks or sand or gravel, I should fish less often." – Roderick Haig-Brown To fish is merely an excuse to...

"The great charm of fly-fishing is that we are always learning." – Theodore Gordon The beauty of fly fishing is how simple it really is, and yet it can provide a lifetime of fun and learning. If you are ready for an introduction to the basics or just need a refresher before getting back out on the water, we are...

"I bought some instant water one time but I didn't know what to add to it." – Steven Wright After a dry winter, the Wood River Valley was like a gag can of dehydrated water. Come spring, we are living the punch line. While this cool, wet weather may only be a temporary stay from the severe drought, it is...

"Seeing the first trout of the year was more than a relief – it was a form of spiritual survival.  The trout were still there; something important had continued." – Ted Leeson After months of anticipation, it is reassuring to find the moose, the birds, the bugs, and the trout where they should be. Silver Creek Thanks to inclement weather,...

"The irreducible constant of fishing is water." – Ted Leeson Opening day for the Big Wood, Silver Creek, and the South Fork of the Boise is Saturday, May 28th. Time to gather and prepare the ingredients for a successful day of angling: patch waders, replace laces, organize fly boxes, check tippet, rebuild leaders, clean lines, fill float tube, call a...

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." – Charles Dudley Warner One thing we do when it comes to talking about the weather is: make predictions. Four weeks ago the summer water forecast for the Valley looked grim, but moisture keeps coming to our mountains. As of April 1st, the Big Wood Basin snow water equivalent...

"They both listened silently to the water, which to them was not just water, but the voice of life, the voice of Being, the voice of perpetual Becoming." – Hermann Hesse April has been a good month for moisture around the valley and the next ten days also promise more cool, wet weather. The rain dance worked! While this is...