I'm planning a fishing trip to Idaho for a few days the first or second week of September. Where are some good strips to fly into and fish nearby without having to hike a lot? I'm bringing my wife, too. A friend is coming with his wife in his 260hp 182, but he doesn't have a ton of back-country experience so I'm looking for medium to easy strips. He's been in the backcountry in Utah, but only the nice strips like Mineral Canyon and Hidden splendor.

I don't spend enough time up there so I don't know where the fishing will be good in a few weeks. Any suggestions?

I don't mind some company, either!

Depends on what 'medium' to 'easy' means, but Fish Lake is a gem, and Cayuse is legendary (and requires a bit of hiking). Both are straightforward for folks flying into their first trip. DA is especially important at Fish Lake. Cayuse is a tad shorter.

Fishing often picks up on Big Creek (and the Middle Fork) in September if you were to go to Soldier Bar or Cabin Creek, depending on comfort levels. Summer fishing can get really slow till the water starts cooling off there. The hike to Big Cr from Cabin Cr is around half an hour. The hike from Soldier Bar is quick, but requires the cable car and can be a bit snakey (well, very snakey). There are some great places to see the bighorns butt heads in the first few weeks of September between the two strips.

Breakfast at the West Fork Lodge is really great, and the West Fork isn't too shabby to wet a line in too, although you'll probably have company.

Have fun!

Not in Idaho, but darn close, is a little gem called the West Fork Lodge (4U7). A great grass strip with a fantastic lodge that your wife will appreciate and you can walk down to the river and fish.

I found it this pas weekend when it was too smoky to fly into central Idaho.

http://www.westforklodge.com/

Moose Creek is long and the Selway and Moose Creek itself can have some excellent fishing. That whole are is really smoky right now so you might be limited depending on the day and the weather conditions. West Fork Lodge is a good place and the west fork of the Bitterroot is just across the street and can be really good fishing. We own 40 acres about 10 miles up the canyon from West Fork Lodge and I was there 2 weeks ago and vis was pretty low due to smoke. We landed at the cabin and could have easily put down at the Lodge but they valleys were cloaked in smoke.

Shearer is another good one on the Selway but a bit tougher of a strip. Cabin creek is also good but a decent walk to the water. Snakes will be plentiful in most of these areas

Does Fish Lake still have the rollers? I've been wanting to check it out, but the last report I remember reading said that it was a bit dicey for nosedraggers...if I remember what I read correctly. I could be off. Someone that has been there recently, chime in!

Hey Allen. Let me know when you are heading that way. I'm shooting for an overnight trip up on the weekend of the 15th if I can make it work. Might be going with a friend that is an avid fisherman.

Cory

Grassstrippilot wrote:Does Fish Lake still have the rollers?

Yes. Very much so. But I've never had a real problem when it's dry...especially with a bit of power blowing across the tail & the wheel back (and trim all the way down while rolling out for me, actually) and it's fine. There are nose draggers there on any given weekend.

I've heard cayuse is kinda rough but I've never been there. I'm hoping to go somewhere in the next few weeks. Thomas creek has good fishing and a sweet hotspring. My wife has a race in Ogden on Sept. 15th and I have one on the 22nd so those weekends are out for me.

Sulphur Creek Ranch http://sulphurcreekranch.com/ is a good option and you can rent cabins and have all your meals prepared for you.

Indian Creek or Chamberlain Basin are two strips that are easy to land at. Fishing can be good at both. Indian Creek will be faster water and riffles with a few pools withing easy walking distance on the Middle Fork of the Salmon. Chamberlain is a little more walking, but a nice small stream to fish.

All the one's mentioned above are good, too. You can check out this page and click on the links on the right-side to get more info on the strips mentioned in this thread. http://idahoaviation.com/idahoAirstripNetwork.php

been to most of them... the absolute easiest is Sulphur fishing in the pond if that's your thing... Have a meal and walked a hundred yards to the pond... most fish are over 18 inches in the pond and hit flies... the stream isnt that far a walk either and yields good 12 to 18 inch cuts... Upper loon is a good one but requires a half mile walk upstream on the road and a short cross country to the stream..Shearer is another rather easy one and nose dragger friendly and has a picnic/camping area next to the stream. watch out for snattle rakes... I almost stepped on one next to the water one year..Moose is a piece of cake landing and leaving but a switch back hike to the water but good fishing in Moose creek once you get there..Big creek is fabulous fishing anywhere you land on it.. Cabin is my favorite..but it is a half hour hike to the stream. Vines is also good but really not for Newby's as it's short and a bit rough..Garden Valley is easy and smooth for the nose wheelers and the camping/picnic area overlooks the river which has spotty fishing...Wilson Bar is also good fishing but look it over good. Nose wheelers can and have gone in there but it's a little rough... can't tell you about the smoke situation at any of them right now but that's about the best as far as fishing goes.. OH one more is Chamberlain.. not a long walk to the stream but beware of chuck holes on the strip..

i would plan on coming guys, remember we've got 100000 acres on fire as we speak...what i've seen is that smiley is vfr a lot, JC is almost always vfr, and a good place to base out of lately. there is a ton of smoke in and around the middle fork for sure...hopefully it all improves in the next 3 wks for 'ya...i've caught great fish at indian also, and that is an easy one, at least to us. ice's idea of sulphur is a great one...+ the cabins are affordable, and have elect. blankets...!

I fished at Fish Lake this weekend and the fish were plentiful but very small. To fish the lake you almost have to have a raft to be productive and the biggest you'll catch is around 6". Fish seemed smaller this year than most but maybe it was just me. fish are bigger in the creek below the lake but much farther to hike to get to them. Strips a little rough for the nose gears but if you walk it and plan your route it's fine. Smoke was very bad in the Lochsa and Selway and unless something changes I don't think the Selway would be very pleasant. There are fires very close to both Moose Creek and Shearer. Big Creek drainage (Cabin Creek is the easiest access) is the best fishing but also involves hiking and watch for the snakes as others have mentioned. I had a rattler try to crawl in my tent at Cabin Creek when I was about 10 when I was in the tent taking a nap. Shot it with my pellet gun. Keep us posted on where you decide to go.

66skylane wrote:I had a rattler try to crawl in my tent at Cabin Creek when I was about 10 when I was in the tent taking a nap. Shot it with my pellet gun. Keep us posted on where you decide to go.

Had a similar experience at Taylor Ranch just a bit downstream. My brother opened a door to leave the cabin, a rattler lit up right under his boot as he was stepping out, and in the hurry to pull his foot back in, the entire stack of large chemistry textbooks he has carrying for the following year's school fell on the poor little feller and shut him up. We used to run into one (or four) every day there at times.

Great advice - thanks! I think we are leaning towards Upper Loon right now, and then flying to a nearby strip or two in the mornings. We're really looking for to do some fly fishing, and I prefer to do it on a stream or river instead of a lake or pond, so I think we'll skip Fish Lake for now. Also, I don't think it's a good idea to take my friend into Cabin Creek yet. He's a good pilot, but needs a little more backcountry experience first. He's never been to Johnson Creek either, but he's seen our videos from the fly-in and would love to go there sometime. I've only been there for the fly-in earlier in the year when the river is too high to fish. Is there anything in it or does it get too much pressure?

Moose Creek and West Fork Lodge are also on the list, but they are a little farther away. Coming in from Utah we want to get up there in the morning before it starts getting too bumpy, but I don't want to wake up too early!

I have caught fish at JC even though everyone says there arent any there... go to the bridge and look at the flat water below the bridge.. if you see any fish hitting flies or jumping go for it... one year I scored on every cast just about... a couple of cutthroats but most were, I think, juvenile salmon in the 12 inch range..the stream up by landmark is prime salmon spawning ground and the little ones migrate down from there, but I dont know when each year..cabin creek isnt particularly hard but it is one way only, so be up on your spot landings... touch down within 50 to 100 feet of the threshold and you are good cause its an uphill stop from there. I did it many times with my tripacer and my buddy also did it many times in his 182... just stay light on the nosewheel after touchdown and dont worry about the rubber water diverters crossing the runway, theyll colapse when you drive over them.....anyway Cabin and Big Creek are tops for fishing just hit the pools and slow water with a hopper or Elk Hair caddis and boom...

Gees guys, nobody even bothered to ask "what the hell is FISING" you spell checkers are slipping

My dad says the smoke won't get much better till snow fall so watch out for that and have fun, don't worry too much about buzz worms unless you run around bare foot alot.

buzz worms???????

Buzz worms = rattle snakes.

shorton wrote:don't worry too much about buzz worms unless you run around bare foot alot.

Hee.

Actually, they are very much a big deal around the river bottoms at Big Creek on the north side. I wasn't kidding when I said we used to run into 1-4 every afternoon. I even had one leave marks in my Kastingers once. Just be aware, that's all. I thump the ground lightly with a walking stick going through brush near the granite talus, and the vibration sets them off with plenty of space to spare if it is warm out. 2pm-5pm is when they are most active, coming down to drink. Snakebites are really super rare, but it is very likely to meet one in certain areas (they don't range far, and on average can live for decades).

A few years ago, we had just pulled into the tie down area at Cabin Creek and my wife stepped out of the plane right on top of one. A gent from the trail crew grabbed it; a 4-footer. Kind of scary, she could have easily been bit.