For those who prefer warmer climates than the North Pole’s -40 degree temperature or who don’t have a desire to take their family into Polar Bear roaming territory, Idaho’s famous Frank Church Wilderness Area is worth considering. The wilderness area, or “The Frank” as it is commonly referred to, covers 2.2 million acres of pristine wilderness area. Within the region are thousands of springs (both hot and cold), countless wildlife (elk, black bear, and moose), and – perhaps the greatest attraction of all – America’s best river trip: the Middle Fork of the Salmon.

The Middle Fork of the Salmon is a 100-mile stretch of river that begins its journey high in the alpine range and ends at the confluence with the Main Salmon River. Stemming from cold springs, mountain lakes, and the purest snow melt, the Middle Fork is nationally recognized as a superb fishery with amazingly clear water and beautiful cutthroat trout.

A trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon is more than just a check-off on your bucket list. Those who find themselves floating through the Middle Fork canyon are often lulled back year after year. It is a place that defines the word solitude – in it’s truest form – and provides one of America’s few examples of pure, rugged, unaltered, natural beauty. It is a place that leaves impressions, but one that has not been impressed upon. Rather, its visitors leave with a new appreciation or renewed sense of life after their 100-mile float through the Franks proudest work of art.

Solitude River Trips offers six-day rafting and fly fishing trips on the Middle Fork of the Salmon. Owned and operated by river veterans Al and Jeana Bukowsky, their trips, like the river they operate on, are top-notch and true classics. Using an outfitter like Solitude makes an experience down the Middle Fork of the Salmon even more rewarding. Their hospitality, genuine love for the river, experience, and gourmet camp cooking makes it easy to absorb the Middle Fork canyon without worries.

On a select number of their trips, Solitude offers an option to stay at one or both of the Middle Fork’s two remote wilderness lodges. The Middle Fork Lodge, located roughly one third of the way down the river, is typically a first or second night on the river. The Flying B Ranch is located roughly two thirds of the way through the journey. Both lodges are located on the banks of the river and provide a comfortable way to spend a night in the Idaho wilderness.

For more information about rafting or fly fishing on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon, contact Al and Jeana of Solitude River Trips at 1-800-396-1776 or visit them online at www.RiverTrips.com.

The Sawtooth Fish Hatchery, located just five miles south of Stanley down highway 75, is one of 11 Lower Snake River Fish and Wildlife Compensation Plan hatcheries and was built in 1984. The hatchery stocks high mountain lakes in the Salmon River drainage and also counts Salmon traveling up the Salmon River.

The entire Salmon River drainage has an estimated 1,000 high mountain lakes. Of those, there are 250 that the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery actively stocks. Each lake is reviewed on a three-year rotation and stocked with a variety of trout species: Westslope Cutthroat, Rainbow, Golden, Bull, and Brook Trout. Just a handful of the lakes can be reached by vehicle and most of them are within the Wilderness Area and can only be accessed by hiking.

The first lakes to be stocked in the Salmon River drainage were in 1920 by Idaho Fish and Game. They used pack mules to carry ten gallon milk cans full of one-inch trout. In 1938, Lionel Dean of Twin Falls, Idaho, began experimenting with aerial drops. He used an open cockpit Eagle rock biplane to perform the tests to see if; 1) he could be accurate and get the fish in the water and; 2) the fish would survive (probably not a good time to be a hatchery fish). In 1941 the first official aerial stocking took place in the Sawtooth Mountains.

Today, the most common method of stocking high mountain lakes is using a fixed-wing aircraft. Stocking the lakes is a two-person job. First, the small fish are placed in “the hopper” – a large metal bucket with a drain plug in the center. The closer the plane is to the lake, the better the chance of survival, so the pilot dips the plane down as he approaches. When he is ready for the fish to be dropped he will tell the Fish and Game officer to pull the plug. The fish drop through the bucket drain, which has an exit on the bottom of the plane. As this is occurring, the pilot must pull the plane up fast to help force the fish out of the bucket.

The Sawtooth Fish Hatchery is certainly worth visiting during your next excursion to Stanley, Idaho. For additional information call them at 208-774-3684.

Getting to Redfish Lake is a breeze. Take Highway 75 headed South for approximately 4.5 miles. Next, turn right onto Redfish Lake Road. Continue for two miles before making another left (stay on Redfish Lake Road) and arriving at the lake.

Facilities at the lodge include a great restaurant that has windows looking out at the lake. There is also outdoor seating, which in the summer time is quite pleasant. There are lots of different lodging options: from small and large cabins to single rooms – each one is rustic but comfortable. For large groups, some of the cabins include a kitchen.

Recreation around the lake area is plentiful. From hiking, biking, and running trails to fishing, swimming, and paddling in the lake itself – opportunities abound.

What’s the perfect closing to a fun day outside? Lay down on the front lawn of the lodge and listen to live music resonate off the neighboring mountains. The Redfish Lake Lodge has a schedule of musicians available on their website at www.redfishlake.com.  The evenings are fun, festival, and delicious. The menu features their famous Prime Rib, but for a more local bite go for the Ruby Red Idaho Trout.

For more information about Redfish Lake, visit www.redfishlake.com or call them at  208-774-3563.

The Main Salmon River begins its over 900 mile journey to the Pacific Ocean from the Stanley/Sawtooth area.   Before it joins with the Snake River and then the Columbia, it becomes a mighty river but in the Stanley area, it is a much smaller stream and a great place to fish.  The Idaho Fish and Game Department  stocks catchable Rainbows in the area from about 20 miles above and about 20 miles below Stanley.  Beyond those areas there is a better likelihood of finding native Westslope Cutthroat, Rainbows, hybrid Cutbows and Bull Trout.  In the spring there is a great chance of catching an ocean run Steelhead.

If you just like to get out and fish a bit, the fishing within a couple miles of Stanley is a great place to toss a line and relax and fish with the views of the Sawtooth Mountains overwhelming your fishing spot.  If you prefer to spend more time and are looking for better chances at native fish try the areas farther from town or give Sawtooth Fishing Guides a call for a day of guided fishing.  Call them at 208 774 8768.

Valley Lakes:

There are a number of larger valley lakes that it is possible to drive to and fish, hike or just enjoy the views.  The best valley lake for fishing during most of the summer is Stanley Lake.  It is located by driving about 4 miles West of Stanley on Highway 75, turning off on the Stanley Lake Road and driving another 3 miles.  The most popular spot to fish is around the inlet area at the far end of the lake.  

If you never caught a fish at Stanley Lake,  you would be sure that just driving there and seeing the view was reason enough to go there!  It is spectacular!   This lake has several kinds of fish and is stocked with Rainbows.  That doesn’t mean you might not catch a Cutthroat, a Brook Trout, a Bull Trout or a Mountain White Fish as all of them are present in the lake.

 Mountain Lakes:

Most any of the lakes that have hiking trails also have fish in them.  Idaho Fish & Game typically stocks fingerlings in these high lakes on a three year rotation.  As always, the place to start with fishing most of the high lakes is near the inlet or outlet.  Recommended lakes that aren’t a super long day hike are Farley Lake and Cabin Creek Lakes in the Sawtooth Mountains and Fourth of July and Washington Lakes in the White Cloud Mountains. 

If you are up for a longer hike, most any of the lakes hold fish and most of the fish are willing to come to a fly as the season for “food gathering’ for these fish is a short one. Many of the lakes are snowed in and iced over from November until June or later.  It is always wise to check with the Forest Service before you hike to a lake to find out trail conditions.

For information on guided fishing in the Stanley area, call Sawtooth Fishing Guides at 208 774 8768 or www.sawtoothfishingguides.com

For information on fishing licenses types, purchase of licenses and Idaho fishing regulations, contact Idaho Fish & Game at 1-800-824-3729 or visit http://fishandgame.idaho.gov       McCoy’s Tackle Shop in Stanley also sells fishing licenses.

For more information and a map of hiking trails, mountain biking trails and roads to different areas near Stanley, look for “Sawtooth & White Cloud Mountains” trail map produced by Adventure Maps.  It can be purchased at McCoy’s Tackle shop, online at www.adventuremaps.net or sales@adventuremap.net or by calling 1-800-849-6589.

“The Middle Fork of the Salmon – framed by the Sawtooth and Salmon River Mountains in the heart of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in central Idaho – remains a stronghold for native west slope cutthroat. And anglers could hardly hope for a prettier place to pursue this most becoming salmonid.”

Through in-depth interviews with many of fly fishing’s acknowledged gurus, the book beyond standard guides to convey the very essence of the recommended locations. Readers can vicariously cast mouse patterns to fifty-pound taimen in the wilds of Mongolia, wrangle with wily permit off the Florida Keys, and match the hatch on Montana’s Armstrong’s Spring Creek….and watch brightly colored Middle Fork cutts rocket up through the river’s clear waters to take a well-presented caddis imitation. The essays include a cultural/natural history of each destination, along with colorful anecdotes based and authorities’ experiences. Full of engaging fish tales, the book also provides adventurous anglers with enough travel-and-tackle information so that they, too, can start planning excursions to go fish around the globe.

For both armchair travelers and avid outdoorsmen who may have already started a checklist of their own, Fifty Places To Fly Fish Before You Die maps out the Meccas of the fly-fishing world. It’s been one of the best-selling fly fishing books since A River Runs Through It was released in 1976.

 At this time of year, we use rafts instead of drift boats, as they allow us to maneuver the Middle Fork’s many rapids more smoothly. The small rafts allow us to run all of the rapids, where as the drift boats would at times require our guests to walk around some rapids and thus cut into your fishing time. Our rafts are extremely maneuverable, allowing us to hold in eddies and other good water longer than possible with a “conventional” white water raft. These specially designed rafts have a sturdy platform floor in the stern and transom, with a casting brace and a comfortable seat back.

While our craft are slightly different than in mid-summer, our seasoned fly fishing guides are still present, ready to help novice anglers master their cast … or lead skilled anglers to where the lunkers lie.

Our fly fishing guides have years of experience fly fishing many different rivers in many places and are truly fishing guides, not just raft guides. They are skilled at both skills and are second to none for they’re all-around abilities. Whether it’s showing you a new presentation technique, helping a beginner or intermediate in camp improve their casting skills, cooking up one of their favorite dishes, playing an instrument or just general conversation, you’ll find them knowledgeable guides … and wonderful companions.

These small group fly fishing trips in September fill extremly fast, in fact two dates for 2010 are already fully booked. So, call or e-mail pronto

Visit Solitude at www.RiverTrips.com for all information and dates.

Contact Information:
Silver Creek Outfitters
500 N. Main St
Ketchum, ID
83340
208.726.5282
www.silver-creek.com
info@silver-creek.com

Stanley, Idaho, Fly Fishing

Of course, if you are interested in a multi day fly fishing or rafting trip, then you will want to visit the Solitude River Trips website.