SE Idaho Streams

[JohnScott]

From the first place I fish, I choose spots as I head downstream toward the trailhead. This is another one of my favorites. It's usually good for a number of fish, again, along the wall and down a bit from the lower end of the pool.



Today, with the water running high, fish simply would not come up from the bottom of the pool for a dry, and the current against the rock wall was pretty strong.



But in the tailout, three more cutts went for the Yellow Humpy. All three were in the same place, and took the fly just the same way.

The sight of a cutthroat rising to a dry fly is just about the best thing in fly fishing for my money, whether they are big or more like this one.



On the way down from here, I fished a number of places that looked promising. In several, I landed more cutts like the two pictured above. In several, I didn't get any hits, let alone hook ups.

On the day, I ended up with about 18-20 cutts, all on the Yellow Humpy except for the three that took a flying lea... ant at the first place I fished.

Here are a few more views of Palisades Creek. Click on the photo and enjoy.



John

[Tylersaurus Rex]

Mr. Scott: Thanks for the guide! I'm going to be in Pocatello for a couple of weeks this month, visiting my folks. Any suggestions about where to go for some good fishing? Both of these look great, though they are a bit of a hike from Poky.

[JohnScott]

T-Rex -

Don't really know about what fishing is available right around Pokey. The two streams on this thread so far are close to 100 miles one way from there. There is primitive camping at Rainey Creek and a nice campground at Palisades, for about $10 per night.

If you are willing to drive and camp, take a look at the reports on the Central Mountains.

John

[Lew]

Mr. Scott: Thanks for the guide! I'm going to be in Pocatello for a couple of weeks this month, visiting my folks. Any suggestions about where to go for some good fishing? Both of these look great, though they are a bit of a hike from Poky.

The Portneuf river that runs through Pocatello is quite a nice fishing stream as it comes into Lava Hot Springs, upstream from Pocatello. Get up above where the inner-tubers float through the town, and the fishing can be quite good. It's a few miles away, but about as close as you'll get unless you want to fish the main stem of the Snake River above American Falls.

[JohnScott]

The Wyoming Range and the Salt River Range are so far west in Wyoming they actually belong to SE Idaho. I'm sure the citizens of Wyoming wouldn't buy that for a minute, but hopefully they have a good sense of humor about such things. After all, if it weren't for lines on a map, who would know ??

Thought I would have some time yesterday to fish the Greys River, which flows north from the Tri-Basin Divide between the Wyoming and Salt River Ranges for well over 70 miles before joining the Snake River near Alpine. Turned out I didn't have time to fish, but thought I would show some of the country and comment on fishing the Greys River. Will go back there this week for a couple days of fishing the Greys River and maybe the Smith Fork ( it's even closer to that line on the map ).

We picked Box Canyon for a hike in the Wyoming Range. Box Canyon is about 48 miles south ( upstream ) of Alpine WY on the Greys River Road. For the most part, Greys River Road is good gravel, but there are some pretty rough sections, and some washboarding along with some tight turns.



Box Canyon Creek is a major tributary to the Greys River. The west side of the Wyoming Range provides a tremendous variety of scenery to view while fishing the Greys River, as does the east side of the Salt River Range.



The Salt River Range as seen from Box Canyon.



The trail up Box Canyon offers something of everything, from lightly wooded sections with soft forest duff, to open meadow hiking, to scree fields to cross, through streamside foliage and up the ravine of the North Fork which climbs about 500' elevation in less than half a mile, finally to the meadows of Box Canyon Pass.



( Continued )

[JohnScott]

The hike to the pass is something over four miles and gains about 2,000' elevation. For the most part, it is just a steady climb.



The section that heads up the North Fork gets really steep, with some lousy footing at times, but that only lasts for a while, and then you get to the upper end of the drainage and see the meadows at the pass and it's easy to keep going.



On the way down from the pass, you pick up the headwaters of the North Fork below some springs and pretty spongy meadow areas. It flows along a gentle grade until it suddenly plunges into the ravine.



An hour and a half later, we were back at the truck. Ready to head for home after a great outing in one of the beautiful mountain ranges of Western Wyoming. On the way out, we stopped to talk for a few minutes with a fly fisherman who had spent the day on the Greys River. He reported good action on stimulators, for cutthroat to 16", taken mostly in the faster water.

For some more views from our hike, click on the photo.



Stay tuned for a report on fishing the Greys River and hopefully the Smith Fork next week.

John

[Gardenfish]

this is wonderful. I needed to get away for a few minutes. Your post brought back memories of hiking and backpacking in the high country years ago. Splendid!

that cutthroat is magnificent. Thanks a million for taking the time to do this for us.

[JohnScott]

Gardenfish -

Glad I could take you away to someplace you really enjoyed.

One of the benefits of doing these reports is that I can go back and relive the outings and revisit the places that I report on.

It is nice to know that others enjoy them. Thanks.

John

[Beaver]

John,

Great pics of some beautiful country. Really enjoy seeing some of these great places through your eyes. Thanks again.

[JohnScott]

Spent the morning yesterday travelling to the Tri Basin Divide area in Western Wyoming. A hundred miles plus of pavement then about 45 miles of dirt, gravel and rock before I got to the divide.



Just a sign, right ?? Doesn't mean much. EXCEPT, this is a very unusual, if not unique, place.

Over the hill behind the sign is the headwater of the Smith Fork and just a few miles further and a bit south is the headwater of Hobble Creek, which joins the Smith Fork fifteen or twenty miles downstream.

Hobble Creek was part of the route for the Lander Cut-Off on the Oregon Trail. Several years ago Deborah and I hiked four or five miles from the LaBarge Meadows Guard Station to Hobble Creek along the ruts made by the thousands of wagons that passed through here a century and a half ago.



When all is said and done, the Smith Fork and Hobble Creek, along with other streams and rivers forming the Bear River, empty into the Great Salt Lake in the Great Basin.

To the left of the sign is the LaBarge River, which begins in a beautiful meadow.



More than a little history here. Western history from about a hundred and fifty years ago.



The LaBarge River waters eventually join the Green, then the Colorado, and end up at the end of the Colorado River system, wherever that happens to be any given year.

( Continued )