General deer season opens Saturday; Try to squeeze in a fall cast-and-blast float trip

Hunting season is upon us! General deer season opens on Saturday statewide.
Scott Smay is pictured here on the edge of the Frank Church Wilderness. 

Put bright colors on your dogs if you take them in the woods
during hunting season. 

Rick Gerrard enjoys catching fish while soaking in the grandeur of Hells Canyon. 

Steve hauls in a fall chinook while Huck inspects the prize. 

Black bears scout for berries in the hackberry trees in Hells Canyon.

South Fork Snake River in summer mode ... 

Wendy on a side hike on the Middle Fork in October ...
We had the whole river canyon to ourselves for a week! 

Hi all,

Well, the endless summer in Idaho is coming to a close as the days get shorter, the temperatures drop more steeply at night, and the calendar clicks into October. Fall general rifle hunting seasons also are kicking in on Saturday, Oct. 10th, with the opening of general deer season in many parts of Idaho, and general rifle elk season will follow close behind on Oct. 15 (McCall unit) or Oct. 25 (Weiser unit) or Nov. 1st (Boise unit). See the Idaho Fish and Game regulations for details.

Summer-like weather in the afternoons in October can be marvelous, however, so it's tempting to continue your fall hiking, biking, backpacking, and mountain-climbing trips amid the throngs of hunters. Be smart and wear hunter orange and put some bright colors on your puppies to protect yourself.

I'd also recommend trying to squeeze in a late-season float trip on the Lower Salmon River, Middle Fork Salmon, Main Salmon or Hells Canyon to fish and hunt chukars, if you're so inclined. This has been an annual tradition for me since the late 1980s, and it's always a great time. In Hells Canyon last weekend, the fish were biting big-time, and there were lots of chukars running around on the Oregon and Idaho sides of the river. We caught tons of small-mouth bass and rainbow trout and four members of our group caught a big fall chinook salmon.

In a matter of days, the steelhead will be running stronger up the Salmon River and Snake River, so you could add these beautiful ocean-going fish to the list of fish you might catch. If you have people in your group who carry big-time fish tackle for sturgeon, that'd be another potential prize to pursue.

From the standpoint of trip logistics, it's easiest to put together a Lower Salmon or Hells Canyon trip in SW Idaho. For those who live near Stanley, Salmon or Idaho Falls, a Main Salmon trip would be easier to pull off, but it also would take more days to do the 80-mile trip. The South Fork Snake River is another great fall trip near Idaho  Falls, where you can fly fish for trout and maybe find a grouse in the woods above camp.

Here are some basics on the fall river trips:

• Hells Canyon - Put in a Hells Canyon Dam and float to Pittsburg Landing, a distance of about 35 miles. This trip is easily doable in three or four days. Take as much time as possible. Only self-issue permits are required, available at the web site. Shuttles can be arranged through Scotty's gas station in Pine, Oregon for $160 cash. They do a marvelous job! 
• Lower Salmon Canyon - Float from Hammer Creek to Heller Bar or arrange for a jet boat shuttle to Pittsburg Landing from the mouth of the Salmon. It's almost 50 miles from Hammer Creek to the mouth of the Salmon, and the river is running very low (3,500 cfs), so allow for plenty of time to do your float. Fishing is limited to small-mouth bass and steelhead in this section. 
• Salmon River near Riggins - If you don't have time to do a longer trip, you could put in at Carey Creek or Vinegar Creek and float down to Riggins while fishing for steelhead and hunting chukars. 
• Middle Fork Salmon - Arrange a fly-in to Indian Creek or Middle Fork Lodge area and float the Middle Fork in October. Pick up a river permit on recreation.gov. I've done solo one-boat trip on the Middle Fork in October with Wendy, and also smaller group trips. Fly fishing for cutthroat trout really turns on in the sunny afternoons. Also can hunt chukars. Here's a previous blog post on a late-season Middle Fork trip. Keep an eye out for black bears! A floater got attacked in the last week by a hungry bear! We saw six black bears on our trip in Hells Canyon.   
• South Fork Snake River - Put in at Palisades Dam for the long version of the float or at Swan Valley and float to the takeout at Heise. The South Fork Lodge in Swan Valley does shuttles.  Check with the experts on what kinds of flies the fish are taking. The cuts on the South Fork get fished very hard by a steady stream of outfitters every day. By this time of year, it's more locals than outfitters. Here's a blog post I did on the South Fork two years ago. The South Fork is also good for seeing moose and bald eagles.   

Have fun and enjoy the fall!
- SS

Try floating, camping and fishing on the South Fork Snake River in E. Idaho; beautiful canyon!

Wendy, Lucas and Zach 

Huck, Drew and Steve 

Look at the size of this camp in Lufkin Bottom! Night 2

Wendy loves the South Fork because of all the bird activity! 

Steve has a fish on ... 

Courtesy of South Fork Anglers 

South Fork bald eagle 

Hi all,

This week's topic is about floating the South Fork of the Snake River, located about 30 minutes east of Idaho Falls. Wendy and I met some friends from Utah over there for a three-day float last week, and after I posted some Facebook pics, several people remarked that they'd never heard of boating on the South Fork Snake ... so here's the skinny.

We floated from Conant Boat Ramp in Swan Valley to the Byington takeout in Heise, a distance of 25 miles, including the prized South Fork roadless canyon. The canyon reach is the most spectacular portion of the whole river trip, because of the scenery and solitude, but the fishing can be good all the way from Palisades Dam to Byington.

What amazes me about the South Fork recreation and boating activity is that nearly all the locals zip through the canyon in a day, fishing, fishing, fishing, and hardly anyone camps overnight in the canyon, creating lots of space for the folks who are taking their time on a multi-day trip. This is a special place that deserves to be absorbed slowly, like a glass of fine wine.

Here's why it's special:

"The South Fork supports the largest riparian cottonwood gallery forest in the West and is among the most unique and diverse ecosystems in Idaho," according to the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the management of the South Fork. "It is also home to 126 bird species, including 21 raptors, meriting a "National Important Bird Area" designation. The river also supports the largest native cutthroat fishery outside of Yellowstone National Park. The corridor is home for an impressive array of other wildlife including moose, deer, elk, mountain goats, mountain lions, black bears, bobcats, coyotes, river otter, beaver, fox, and mink."

All told, I think the South Fork has 20+ bald eagle nesting territories along the cottonwood-lined river corridor. We saw bald eagles every day. 

Consider the South Fork as a great alternative place to do a multi-day river trip with the family and kids, or a group of friends. Take 3 or 4 days from Palisades Dam or Conant to Byington, and enjoy camping in these huge cottonwood groves adjacent to the river. In our three-day trip last week, we saw only one other party staying overnight anywhere in the canyon. It's an under-appreciated treasure! And there are tons of designated camps along the river sitting there empty. 

During the day, the river gets busy with lots of outfitters guiding fly fishing guests on the South Fork, so the native cutthroat trout and brown trout get fished hard every day. I stopped in the South Fork Outfitters fly shop to see what the fish are biting, and stocked up on the latest hot dry flies, my favorite way to fly fish. The South Fork Outfitters also do vehicle shuttles. Ours cost $30 from Conant to Byington. Not bad at all. 

It's fun to fish the South Fork because the fish bite on big flies, salmon flies, large caddis, pale morning duns, and a variety of big hoppers. Those big flies carry some weight on the end of your fly rod, and you can really cast a long ways to land the fly right next to the shoreline, and watch the gin-clear water for a fish rising up to take the fly. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Fish on! 

You have to pay close attention to your fly, and cast downstream as much as possible as you're floating along, because the South Fork rips! It's a big river, and lately, it's been running 13,700 cubic feet per second on a daily basis ... so it doesn't take long for the boat to zip by the eddies and bury your fly underwater.   

Even though the river runs fast and high, it's table-top flat the whole way, so it's a good float trip for families and kids. You can pick campsites with slow water next to camp so the small kids can play in the water safely. 

Another cool feature on the South Fork is that there are many islands along the way, and you'll see these narrow channels flowing next to the islands. Many of these are wide enough and deep enough for a boat full of gear, and they are quiet, intimate places to fish, plus see wildlife. I'll never forget pulling into one of those narrow oxbows one time, and around the corner, a huge bull moose was right there on the water's edge. Our springer spaniel was in the bow, with its paws up on the tubes. She got a real good look at that bull moose, and even "boofed" a timid little bark as we went by ... She could have been a lunch snack for the moose! :) 

How to get there: Take I-84 to Idaho Falls. Take Yellowstone Blvd. through town to Idaho Highway 26 to Swan Valley. After about 30 minutes, you'll see the South Fork Outfitters fly shop on the left hand side of the road as you're heading for Swan Valley. If you don't have your own boat, you can book a trip with these guys and you'll catch a lot of fish with their expert guides. Otherwise, you can choose from putting in below Palisades Dam (39 mile trip to Byington), Spring Creek by the highway bridge, or Conant. 

River map: I purchased a South Fork Snake River Boaters Guide from the BLM State Office in Boise in the map room for $7.

Equipment: Be sure to bring your fire pan and porta potty for overnight camping.

Permits: Self-issue permits for floating the South Fork and camping in the canyon are available at the put-in.

Information: See the BLM South Fork Snake River web site. 
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In other outdoor news, Bogus Basin is hosting a clean up day on its Nordic trails on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration required. Contact Shelley Pursell at spursell@winterwildlands.org to sign up.

Don't miss the Boise Twilight Criterium on Saturday afternoon and evening!

Save the date: The annual wood-splitting weekend for the Idaho City Park n' Ski Yurts is set for July 26-28. Contact Leo Hennessy for more information: leo.hennessy@idpr.idaho.gov.

Have fun!
- SS