Wild Trout Safaris Alaska Trips

     Choosing our destinations for the class is very difficult. Each choice has to meet certain requirements. For example the destination needs to be good fishing, it needs to be a little exotic, and it needs to be nice for the spouses that join us. Also the trip needs to be affordable, beautiful and accommodating. The drive needs to be safe, scenic and doable. The destination needs to be in the right season, for us, as well as the fishing. The destinations need to be new and different. Oh, did I mention that we have to catch fish?   As the leader, I need to have already fished in the spot, and have to know how to catch them there. Yes, choosing a destination is a difficult task.
    In years past, I have met most of those requirements. I'm hoping to keep it going for years to come. We are in our fourth year of the Extreme Class and thus far it has been great! Our destinations have all been just that; great!
      We have had some unexpected surprises in the class. One of the surprises in the class has been the spouses. Many spouses (most who don't fish) have accompanied us on our various journeys. And, to my surprise and delight, have truly enjoyed the trips. This makes our trips all the better, and gives many more fishermen a pass to take the class. During our trips, the “non-fishing” spouses have had many things to do in our destinations while the balance of us were busy fishing. For this reason, some of my destination choices were made based on how nice the town is and how nice the accommodations are as well.

Trip #1
As trips go, the Gallatin could not have been a more perfect first trip. With a first trip, the hope is that everyone feels relaxed and comfortable as they get to know the group. There is something about the Gallatin as a destination that makes everyone feel warm and cozy. This particular spot in the west seems to have a calming effect on people that causes that cozy mood. Aesthetically, there isn’t a more beautiful river in the world, but I think it’s the season, the crisp chill that charms the visitor. The river has a quiet elegance as it is gracefully steered northward by lofty snow covered banks. The rocks that dot this waterway are fully covered with pillows of soft white snow like meringue on a pastry. The Gallatin is beautiful in any season, but this time of year the river is particularly lovely. I personally love the tall pines, draped heavy with snow that line the banks.

Most started the trip by spending the first night in Bobs’ beautiful cabin. Bob and Ellen’s’ cabin is a spacious yet charming log home nestled in thick pines in Island Park, Idaho. The cabin is so large it fit the whole class. It was a relaxing good time staying with Bob and Ellen.
On Saturday the group stopped for breakfast at the Running Bear Pancake House, in West Yellowstone Montana. I have found that breakfast is the best way for the students to have a chance to meet each other. From West Yellowstone Montana, we drove north thru Yellowstone National Park to Big Sky Montana. That drive thru the park, always results in many animals sightings along the snow covered landscape. This year was no exception. From my family’s car, we viewed Elk, Moose, Buffalo, Deer, Eagles and Coyotes. The road parallels the rivers as it descends out of the park and into Big Sky. In the upper stretches of the Gallatin are mostly snowed over, but opens up just past the warm springs at Big Sky Junction.

We found the Gallatin to be fishing very well, even better than last years’ trip. This is a very forgiving fishery. The bottom of the river, although comprised of freestone bedrock, is not particularly hard to negotiate. The fish are plentiful as is the bug life. Stonefly nymphs, Free Living Caddis, midge pupa and Sculpins make up the bulk of the rivers forage. We caught mostly Rainbows, however we took a few Browns with a smattering of Whites and Cutts mixed in. Everyone caught fish, many with big numbers; 30 or more. The high was 51 fish netted and the low was 9, but who’s counting? The point is we enjoyed ourselves; in fact we had a blast. That big hot tub, the chats over dinner and breakfast, Bob’s cabin, oh, and did I mention the fishing?
The trip was great!
Next stop, Colorado! Tight lines, mike.

Trip #2
The “Fork,” as the locals call it, is the quintessential free-stone river. It reminds me of a little, Madison. It is the “perfect,” fly fishing river. Better still, it is in my mind, very under fished. Not many know about this remarkable fishery. I think that is in large part, due to all the press its sister river gets; The Frying Pan. On day #1, we fished the “Wink Jaffey,” stretch located about 11 miles upriver from Basalt, just below the Aspen, Snowmass Ski Resort.

The fishing was good both up and down steam from the parking lot. Down river may have been a little better, but its’ hard to say because the afternoon was affected by a chill caused by a wispy scum of serous clouds that developed. The Roaring Fork River descends in a fairly steep drop from the ski runs of Aspen northward thru the Roaring Fork Valley down to the town of Basalt, Colorado. There, the Frying Pan River pours into the Roaring Fork River from the east. Below Basalt, the river widens and slows making it floatable to drift boats or rubber rafts. The river continues down the valley another 22 miles turning westward where it empties into the mighty Colorado in the town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The Roaring Fork is fishable all the way from Aspen to Glenwood Springs, but receives most of its fishing pressure in the lower more floatable stretches. Above the town of Basalt, the river is accessible only to wading fishermen. Wink Jaffey is a designated “public fish refuge,” stretch, that is flat out beautiful. This area is arguably one of the best “pocket water,” fisheries in the world. Moreover, it is stunning! This part of the “Fork,” is as beautiful as a mountain stream can get, although the rocks in this river are very round and very slippery. With help of the walking sticks, we slogged our way, in a herky-jerky fashion back and forth throughout the stream bed.

The fish of the Fork, are not only astoundingly colorful, they are plentiful and of good size, ranging from 16” to 22”. Strong and fat, these Browns and Rainbows are fun to find. Yes, I said find! It seems that, in this river, and particularly this time of year, the fish are located in interesting places. Locations like sunny shallows and side slacks. Places where we are not accustomed to fishing. It was fun to cast in unusual places to see where fish were holding. We found the river still locked in what has been a long winter. Snow still dominated the region and I felt, cut into our catch rates.

But don’t misunderstand me, it was still good fishing and fun, we were fishing in a winter wonderland. The fishing was, in truth, slower than last year but it still fished fine, but then again, you really only need to land a few of the beauties to be fulfilled. Gene was the high guy with about 30 in the net, but he fished right thru lunch. There are tradeoffs. Jay was just behind him with a number in the high 20s, but all of his were before lunch. Mickey and I took a long lunch break and had fun doing so. The BS is a big part of the trip in my mind, but we still finished with 16 and 15 respectively. (Yes, he out fished me, but I’m getting used to that.) All numbers aside, one or two of these healthy beasts and you knew it was worth the drive to Colorado. Yes, the Roaring Fork is truly a lovely river, loaded with enchantingly beautiful fish as well as large rocks and deep clear pockets. The banks were lined with large snow covered conifers that offer a beauty that rivals the grander of the Gallatin.
We took fish on various patterns: Prince Nymphs, Navistones, Peacock Stones, Cricket Stones, rubber leg Peasant Tails, Red Peasant Tails, Red Copper Johns, Mikes Money Midge, Weber Worms, Zebra Midges, Hars Ears, Purple & Maroon Stones, 20” Stones, Golden Stones, Rusty Stones, Chamois Caddis and Mean Genes. (Any pattern, I left out, please remind me; E-mail.)

We stayed at the Hot Springs Lodge in Glenwood Springs, therefore, after fishing we all congregated in the huge hot pool at the hotel. We soaked for just short of an hour then met at a Mexican restaurant next to the hotel. Twenty seven in all joined us for dinner. As a group, we joined Chris (one of the new guys) who brought his family, in celebrating his daughter Katelyn’s 10th birthday. It was fun. On day two, we opted to fish a new river, well a new river to the group, called the Crystal. The Crystal is a rarely fished, undammed, freestone river that flows north from Mount Sophris by way of Marble Colorado and then empties into the Roaring Fork River in the town of Carbondale Colorado. I had fished the Crystal way back in 1988 but hadn’t fished it since. Back then I did very well. But then the river was cluttered with scrap marble slabs the land locked spawning fish. Today the river has been better managed and does not preclude fish migrations. It is always fun to fish in a new fishery and the group was both curious and energized to give the Crystal a go. We spread out along the river just above the town of Carbondale. The success rates were mixed, but most caught fish. 35 fish was the netted high, but two fish that were particularly nice taken by Nate, with a Rainbow over 22” and by Brent with one over 20” were highlights. I see us fishing in this fishery again sometime in the future. Colorado has so many beautiful trout streams we could research them until we all expire. I like that thought, explore trout streams until I die. Yep, that’s the way I want to go. Anyway, trip number two is in the books and like always Colorado did not disappoint. It remains to be seen if we fish the Roaring Fork again. It’s been a great run, however, we have so many fisheries that we want to visit, that we might not be able to keep all destination on the list. Or should we? You tell me near the end of the season which trips you want left on the list. At the moment, we all have a date with a Steelhead. Trip three is close at hand and we will think about next year on a later date. For now, look out Sun Valley, here we come! Tight lines. -mike.

Trip #3, Steelheading in Sun Valley, Idaho.
After visiting lands far from Rome, Julius Cesar arrogantly said, "We came, we saw, we conquered!" Not intending to be arrogant when describing our Steelhead trip to Sun Valley Idaho, I'm still going to be bold in my description. I'm choosing a low browed version, and possibly a more fitting quote by Bill Murray from the first Ghost Busters film; "We came, we saw, We Kicked It's Ass!" Yes, we did well on the Salmon River.

I had hoped that we could get half of our students on to a Steelhead. I knew going in, that half the class with a netted Steelhead was not only a lofty goal; it was a far-flung goal that was way too ambitious. Realistically we only needed a few of us with a Steelhead to have a successful trip. But I was still hoping for that kind of a catch rate. I could have never imagined that we would have had the crazy numbers that we had. As a group, we probably hooked 45 Steelhead and we actually put 37 of these sea-run beauties in the net. Yes, we caught 37 Steelhead! Think of it, 20 of us with a fish. That is 37 landed! Not to mention the regular rainbows and the buckets of Whitefish we also caught. Yep, fishing was good. I didn't even rig my rod to fish on day two because my time was better spent netting everyone's fish and helping those that were still empty. However, on day one, I was able to catch a Steely again this year, and I netted my first Bull Trout too. I've been hoping to catch one of these endangered species for a long time. Not a large Bull, maybe only 14 or 15" but a Bull Trout nevertheless. I knew that all anglers have to return the Bull Trout "immediately," as the proclamation says, so I didn't snap a photo of it. I only showed it to Mickey and Mitch before I put it back quickly, so not to rile up the locals who were all watching. Many of the locals were already on edge because of all the Steelhead we were catching in front of them.

As far as the local fishermen, it seems that few people on the river, or maybe in Idaho, own waders. Rather, the local fishermen chose to cast from the shore. Being mostly deaf, I'm able to read lips, and therefore was able to read what some locals were saying. One man was saying something like, "Those fly fishermen are scaring the fish by standing in the river." Some local casters were in fact cast their spinner plugs directly at us, maybe trying to express their displeasure for us being in the river, or for using a fly rod or for, well, I'm not sure. Not all the local fishermen were angry and most were quite friendly. It was interesting to see the mood change in some of them when they saw that we put all, yes all, of our fish back. Not the same with the local fisherman however, who killed and kept everything. Well not completely true, they did throw the Whites back, but unfortunately some threw them back only after they bashed the skulls with a rock or pulled the heads off first. Wow, why? Whites are fun

Anyway, we had 24 students on this trip to northern Idaho, and 20 of hem caught a Steelhead. That is an amazing statistic, we shattered my goal. A number of students like Kim, Nate, Mickey, Wendy, Scott, Gene, Ellen, Chris and Pete netted more than one Steelhead. To the students' credit, each was gracious enough to give up holes and lend a hand in getting as many people on to a fish as possible. It was truly a team effort. Unfortunately, Dan slipped on some ice just outside of my condo back in Sun Valley on Friday night and broke his wrist; as a result was unable to join us at the river on Saturday.
Of the two days we fished, I'd say Sunday was faster. Or, possibly we just knew better where they were and how to catch them. We took 18 Steelhead on Saturday and 19 on Sunday, but on Sunday we had fewer fishermen and did it in less time. During one stretch on Sunday we had doubles, twice. Steelhead-doubles? Not bad for a fish that is commonly referred to as, "the fish of a thousand casts." I credit much of our success to the research I did on Friday. I logged some 350 miles in my car on Friday driving up and down the Salmon River trying to find the fish. It took all day and we only got in a few casts. But it paid big dividends for the rest of the gang on Saturday. In truth we would have had to do the same thing as a group on Saturday had I not done the leg work the day prior. (Special thanks to Burk, Mitch and Mickey for suffering that long day in the car without much fishing.)

After the research day, I had three spots on the river picked out. Most anglers told us that most of the catching was done before 9:00am. This caused some students to want to leave Sun Valley before 6:30am. Not my idea of an Extreme Class strategy. Fine for the Advanced Class, in the Advanced Class we fish dawn to dusk. But this was an Extreme Class trip and in the Extreme Class we start later and finish earlier. (We are getting old.) At our age, we have already caught lots of fish in our lives, so we tend to focus on breakfast and dinner, never mind those awesome beds and 400 thread count sheets back the Sun Valley Lodge.
But, for whatever reason, I let some of the new guys influence me, so we started early, it was a bad idea. With way too little sleep in me, we headed over Galena pass en route to the first spot I had picked as a possible fishing destination. Upon arrival the temperature was only +2 degrees Fahrenheit, at least that temp was up from the temperature at the pass which was -8 below. Needless to say we didn't fish there and opted to keep driving. When we arrived at the second spot I had picked, the temperature was +8 degrees, but Mickey was sure that the third spot was going to produce, "more fish." I asked him how he knew we'd do better if we kept going and he said, "Look the sun is shining down river." Then I knew that it was a choice made not for the fishing but rather for the weather. We got to the third spot further down river and the temperature was a balmy +16 degrees. To Mickey's credit, the third spot did fish very well, as he said it would. But then again Mickey credits that fact that he listened to a Bob Marley CD before we left the condo, which proves that it was a choice based on scientific data.

I think all of the fish we caught this year, save one, were A-run fish.
An A-run fish is a fish that was hatched in the hatchery and is making its first journey back up river. A-run fish generally range in size from 23 to 28''. B-run fish, are fish that are making their second swim up river and range in size 26-32" B-run fish are wild fish, not hatchery born and do not have their adipose fin clipped and therefore have to be released back into the river. However, we let all of them go both A's and Bs. Some say that there are a "so called," C-run fish in the river, that range in size from 32-36". Last year I landed a 35" fish. I'm not sure how many times it has returned up river, but you can see a photo of that fish and read about that battle that in sued by clicking on the 2007 blog box located on the Extreme link on my web page.
It appears we were early in the run this year and the fish were lower in the river. We mostly only saw A-run fish. Allegedly the B-run fish were still down river and locals say about five days from reaching the upper stretches.
I'm not going to talk about the Sun Valley Lodge as much as I did last year. Safe to say it was great! Without question, best accommodations we have on the Extreme Class list. Thank Bob England for that. After fishing on Saturday, Bob also hooked us up at a special dinner location. We dined at Ernest Hemingway's hunting cabin, now a reservations only restaurant high above Ketchum on Trail Creek. Its rustic elegance made for a lovely evening. We were all seated in a large room surrounding a large quarried rock fireplace. There were 33 of us for dinner, which included 10 non-fishing spouses and a few kids.

.We socialized while a fellow fly fisherman from Soda Springs serenaded us with an accordion. The evening had a nostalgically cozy ambiance that was just right.
I wasn't sure the Sun Valley/Steelhead trip would make next years' list. I mean when you consider that we only got 17 Steelhead netted last year. This year's results were going to be telling about the future of this destination in years to come. But now, when compared to last year, this year we had a marked improvement. The problem is, for next year, I'm adding Lee's Ferry in Arizona and putting back on the list the San Juan River in New Mexico. For this reason we will have to lose at least two destinations from this year's list. Also, if we do well on the research to the John Day River in Oregon that will mean that three trips from the list will be gone. Therefore, with the fishing on the Salmon River finally rivaling the Sun Valley Lodge in caliber, it's not going to be hard to believe that the Sun Valley trip will make the list again. But it will be hard to choose which trip gets x-ed from the list. I'll wait and see how you vote.

For most of us, the Big Horn trip had it's beginnings on the Snake River. By tradition my Advanced Class has its last trip on the Saturday of the Big Horn trip. It is very convenient seeing how "the gang," really can't get to the Big Horn from Kaysville. But we can get there if we stay a night near Yellowstone. (Such a hardship.)
I like to have the Advanced students meet the Extremers and this is a good way to do that. For years a good number of Extremers have joined the Advanced Class on its last trip. The last trips over the past four years we have fished Lewis Lake, Fire Hole River, Henry's Lake, and now the Snake River.
The Snake River trip was the first time I had ever attempted to float the Advanced students in a river. I think they faired quite well, however the water was running high and royally negatively affecting the fishing. In truth, we ran right strait into a major Salmon Fly hatch that went virtually unnoticed by the Snake River trout. We did catch some fish, although all of them subsurface. A couple of real nice ones too.

I, personally put 8 in the net, but the students didn't do very well. I only had one student with double figures, he caught 11, but a few students left with zero. That was particularly unfortunate, because it has been a tough go for the Advanced Class. I was hoping to redeem them on our last journey from what has been a lack luster spring. In the 2008 Spring Advanced Class, we ran into low water, high water and a late ice off. It was the poorest fishing, of any Advanced Class I have ever taught, going back 12 years. Nevertheless, that low fish production was buffered by the number of wonderful people we had in the class. I mean some really nice folks! I suspect that a good number of them will join us in the 2009 Extreme Class and will fit in nicely. I'm quite sure that the Fall Advanced Class will rebuild their confidence and heal the pain of such low fish numbers. The Fall Advanced Class would be good for those joining us in the Extreme Class in January.
About a dozen Extremers followed me from the Snake to West Yellowstone Montana. In West, I phoned the lodge in Cooke City with our ETA. I was told by my favorite restaurant in Cooke that they would not stay open to accommodate the balance of our group. What? No Piaieja? Will I cope? Well, I now know that the reason was due to our group, which they were already expecting. It seems that the other 12, of the gang, had already informed the restaurant that the Snake River 12 were still coming. So, when I called, they said they were already booked, not realizing that we were that same group, they were expecting. Bummer! We therefore ate in West and substituted a Buffalo burger for European cuisine and a particular Spanish dish called Piaieja. Nothing against the burger, it's just not an even trade, but no worries. It's not what you're eating, it's who you are eating with, and we were with some of the best! Included in that group are some of the "newcomers" to Extreme Class; i.e. Al, Woody, Gravel Dan and our two lovely CPAs, Katina and Jenny.

This year the snow was higher than I have ever seen. In some places the snow was 18 feet above the car on both sides of the road. From the top of the pass the road looked like a giant mole had burrowed its way back and forth all the way up. Skiers build jumps to jump the road in many places along the way. Unfortunately, all of the high lakes were not only frozen, they were still covered with snow. From the top we headed down the many switch backs toward Red Lodge Montana. The route down was lined with many recent avalanche tracks. In fact that road was closed just two days after we passed due to a major avalanche and remained closed for another week. We timed the trip perfectly.

In Red Lodge we dined in a Mexican Restaurant called Bogart's and then continued our travels eastward to the small town of Belfrey. Just past the small high school where the "Bats," play (yes, Belfry Bats) their home games, we turned left and headed north, thru a few more charming farming communities. The bluffs to the west that overlook the Clarks Fork Valley, just above these communities is where centuries of Native Americans drove herds of Buffalo to their deaths in a formable hunting strategy.
    In the village of Edgar we turned right and onto a gravel road on the Crow Indian reservation. I've become not only quite accustomed to this long bumpy ride over the Montana prairie I truly enjoy this section. Maybe it's the old school rock that I blast over the car speakers, or the stories I yell to my passengers and to Mickey. Either way, it's a fun ride for me. However, I fear others just try to endure this part of the trip.
    We arrived in Ft Smith with plenty of time to wet a line. After dumping our bags in the room, a majority of us hit the river. The Big Horn at the pull out fished great! I put 18 nice sized Bows and Browns in the net in just a little over an hour. Pete, Kim, Kyle, Jenny, Chris and Coach also caught a nice batch of fish in a very short while. Unfortunately, Mickey fell in after just three fish in the net.
    The evening air was lovely and we were fanned by a warm gentle breeze out of the south. I only had on a short sleeve T-shirt and it was nice, but my feet were cold. The Big Horn is a tail water, draining Yellowtail Dam. The water stays cold year round, making the fishery great for trout! Just ask Mickey about the cold water.

The sun setting in the west provided a beautiful view of seemingly angry red and orange streaks of cirrus clouds. The light reflecting the setting sun put a pink glow on the water and made for a great back drop for my strike indicator. I thought of Chief Red Cloud who led his people to victory over General Custer not 30 miles from where we were standing, and was sure this was the kind of evening that earned him his name.
I picked up my fish on Red Wire Worms and Gray BB Sows. The fishing was fast. I watched Pete standing in the same tracks catch 17 in a row. I only had two Red Wire Worms left in my box and I was worried that we'd start fishing in the morning without being able to restock my fly box. That however, turned out not to be a problem. You see, Cookie Bob, along with Tom and Gene had stayed back at the cabin and prepared a nice spaghetti dinner. Max had brought the vices from Mickey Finns, so after dinner we tied up a bunch of wire worms at the kitchen table. Yep, we were going to slay them in the morning!
The evening fish, on the first night at the Big Horn had proved to be very productive. Even Jenny, who had gone empty on the Snake, hooked a few fish. I'd say that as a group, we took over a hundred fish that evening. The karma had shifted, the bad taste in our mouths from the Snake River was gone.

We set off into the river as a giant flotilla, like the ill fated Spanish Armada. But this float was not ill fated in fact many of us were hooked up only minutes after launching. We stopped at the first hole and caught lots of fish. Cookie Bob landed a pig! I got the fish in bare handed, because I left my net on my pontoon. A photo of that fish is now on display on the wall at Mickey Finns. From there we drifted to our second hole where Gene also took a pig! Gene hooked it before most of the group had even arrived at the second hole. His fish will be on the wall at Mickey Finns soon.

    From there we floated to our next honey hole along the red sand cliffs on the west side of the river. There we took even more fish. People caught fish and people had fun. Lucy said of the Big Horn trip, that it was not only the best trip, but the best trip she, "had ever been on." Wow, such an endorsement!
    That night we dined at Polly's place. Not everybody got what they ordered, because they sold out of some stuff. Yes, our large group contributed to that shortage. We still had fun. I love to BS with everybody at dinner.
    A small tragedy occurred while we were in Polly's Place. Someone got into Cookie Bobs truck and stole three rods, one reel and Gene's prescription sun glasses. It was probably the same person who stole Blain's flies out of his trailer the night before. I hope Bob and Gene's loss was tempered by both of them catching exceptionally large fish earlier that day.
The next day we caught even more fish. Kyle took special interest in getting Katina and Jenny hooked up. Yes, our two CPAs did fine. Al also got a pig Cut Bow! Brent A. did better on day two, after lengthening his leader. However, Mickey dropped his rod, reel and line into the river and it was never seen again.

The next day, for those who desired to join me, I took a few to the Ruby River after a nice breakfast at a favorite spot called Main Street Over Easy. The Ruby fished great! Brent Fig learned how to take Rainbows on the strip. It was a good time for sure. We caught lots of fish in a very short amount of time. Most everybody left after lunch. Nevertheless, Mickey, Kim, Gravel Dan and I stayed until evening. I put 33 in the net including a few nice size Browns.
The same four stayed a few days longer and fished the "90." We did encounter some high water but we still managed to catch some nice numbers of fish.
OK another great trip in the books. British Columbia is next. I hope you are with us!

Tight lines. -mike