Mr. Wilson and I have been shooting to hit the Lava/Grace Idaho area to fish about 3 beauties up there. However his little brother Chris, aka Lil' Bubba, is in town for the holidays, so it makes sense to take him to a river we know, verses exploring new waters. Bubba is a bush pilot in Alaska and drops clients in some of the most remote, wild, extreme places in the world, how do we compete with that? How do we provide an equivalent fishing experience to match Alaska? Only one answer--you don't.
I know it's stupid to compete with a place like Alaska; for Godsake the place is the last frontier. Chris hikes glaciers with grizzlies 30 feet away from him, drops movie stars and second rate politicians (guess who) in Denali National Forest, and let's not forget all the salmon!!! Oh, did I mention he's a bush pilot--isn't that up on the list of top 10 most bad ass jobs in the world? Its way more cool then special ed teacher and "Science Guy."
But hold on a minute, we can take him to holy water--even against salmon, it really should hold its own. Not to mention, the drive up there is nothing to shake a stick at. I have often boasted of how relaxing and geographically pleasing the drive is.
The snow is falling consistent, but the drive is manageable. At the summit, the visibility is pretty bad, but we manage it fine. Getting close to the river, the snow thins to the point of stopping completely, and it looks like we are in for a beautiful day.
The cfs are at that perfect range, high enough to provide some ripple in the water and some cover, and low enough to allow us to wade. And, as luck would have it, there are only two other vehicles parked, and both of them duck hunters. Oh yeah baby Holy Water pretty much all to ourselves.
When we approach the river, the banks lined with just a touch of snow, the tall grasses waving, and the clarity of the green water, I look over at Chris and realize he looks as happy to be there as I am. I think I have approached this all together wrong. Its not really about rating a river, its just about being on the river that your are on buster!
For me I'm happy being on the banks of this river again with my old, buddy, and sharing it with a new one--especially on a day that everyone else went skiing, or more likely stayed home to watch football. Fishermen are about getting that fix they get from the river, time and time again, be it in Alaska, Montana, Idaho or Utah. With any luck the next time we're with Chris, he'll be dropping us off with some raft at an Alaskan holy river to get our fill of what they have to offer.
But hold on a minute, we can take him to holy water--even against salmon, it really should hold its own. Not to mention, the drive up there is nothing to shake a stick at. I have often boasted of how relaxing and geographically pleasing the drive is.
The snow is falling consistent, but the drive is manageable. At the summit, the visibility is pretty bad, but we manage it fine. Getting close to the river, the snow thins to the point of stopping completely, and it looks like we are in for a beautiful day.
The cfs are at that perfect range, high enough to provide some ripple in the water and some cover, and low enough to allow us to wade. And, as luck would have it, there are only two other vehicles parked, and both of them duck hunters. Oh yeah baby Holy Water pretty much all to ourselves.
When we approach the river, the banks lined with just a touch of snow, the tall grasses waving, and the clarity of the green water, I look over at Chris and realize he looks as happy to be there as I am. I think I have approached this all together wrong. Its not really about rating a river, its just about being on the river that your are on buster!
For me I'm happy being on the banks of this river again with my old, buddy, and sharing it with a new one--especially on a day that everyone else went skiing, or more likely stayed home to watch football. Fishermen are about getting that fix they get from the river, time and time again, be it in Alaska, Montana, Idaho or Utah. With any luck the next time we're with Chris, he'll be dropping us off with some raft at an Alaskan holy river to get our fill of what they have to offer.
