Spent most of last week with non-fishing friends at Smiley Creek,
about 45 miles northwest of Sun Valley in the upper Salmon River
basin. Located at the foot of the Sawtooth Mountains, it's hard to
imagine a more spectacular setting.
On a recommendation from a neighbor, I four-wheeled up a mountainside
to fish alpine Yellow Belly Lake. The lake had a stony bottom and
seemed devoid of vegetation, bugs or fish, despite the neighbor's
claims to the contrary. After a couple fruitless hours, I left and
tried my luck at nearby Perkins Lake, casting to a few swirling
subsurface fish finally long distance releasing a single taker for
the day's efforts
Oh well, new territory, I thought, and decided to try the Big Wood
River across Galena Pass instead.
Although the river flows right through Ketchum, the streamside trophy
homes and fenced ranches limit access to the lower stretches of the
Big Wood to parks and bridges. A couple hours spent at three
different locations above town yielded a single fish on a blue dun,
also long distance released.
Running out of time and unwilling to pay the $375 3/4 day rate for a
Silver Creek guide, my last stab at catching an Idaho fish was more
successful. I had just an hour and a half to try out the Big Wood
again, but closer to the headwaters of the main fork below Galena
Lodge.
Although I was fishing at nearly 8000 feet, the low gradient of Big
Wood makes it a sort of alpine spring creek, meandering across the
valley floor. Stealthily approaching small pools and cutbanks through
the brush, I was finally able to coax three fish to hand: one a fat
13 inch RB; the others 10-11 inches. Lost three more fish and donated
several flies as an offering to the fish gods on the convenient brush
altars.
Thought maybe next trip I'd try skiing instead, but with much more of
that sort of luck, I'd probably break my leg ;-)
Kent Lufkin
