Fly Fishing Idaho’s South Fork – A wing shooter gives it a try

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

PF Editor Herwig on his first fly fishing expedition for Upland Tales magazine, PF’s youth pub, on the South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho. (photo by Dan Burr)

Last July 17, I found myself in one heck of an idyllic situation: floating in a classic wood drift boat catching brilliantly colored Yellowstone cutthroat and rainbow trout on the South Fork of Idaho’s Snake River.

The South Fork runs hard, high and clear sandwiched between the Gros Ventre Range on the east and the Caribou Range on the west by the Wyoming border.

This was my first time in a drift boat and fly fishing. I had several fish on, one for quite a while – but never boated one. Dang hooks are too small and I got yelled at for reeling. Huh? Hey, I’m from Minnesota. Here we’re used to setting giant hooks in giant fish and muscling them into the boat where they are eyed over for their fillet potential. Grab the butter. These guys throw their fish back. What’s that?

My friend, and longtime PF magazine illustrator, Dan Burr of Tetonia, Idaho, generously provided nearly everything for my trip that day, including expert lessons and lots of muscle power to get us up and down that rowdy, fish-filled mountain river.

While I enjoyed the day immensely, Dan won’t be surprised to hear I won’t be taking up fly fishing anytime soon. I can’t see myself doing anything that would cut into my “trigger therapy” time.

So, at day’s end, I found myself sitting cross-legged on the boat’s bow sans fly rod, meditating over the magnificent scenery drifting by, taking notes for a story in our youth magazine Upland Tales and being thankful I lived to experience such a stupendous day.

Hey, all you hook-heads out there, there’s something new afoot for fishing conservation. Keep America Fishing™ has been formed by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) to renew efforts to unite the sportfishing industry and the country’s 60 million anglers to keep our nation’s public waters open, clean and abundant with fish. A noble cause, indeed.

Check out www.KeepAmericaFishing.org™ for the latest news regarding efforts to keep our waters accessible and full of yummy fish. Hope they approve of using frying pans full of fillets and creamery butter!