Silver Creek Idaho

Chapter 1      "1st base/The salad"
(see Arco preface)

Silver Creek:                 1^st base/the salad

There’s nothing wrong with being on first base, and everyone loves a great salad. But depending upon what level of fisherman you are really determines how you would rate this river. The guides at “Lost River Outfitters,” seem to only talk about the magnificent “Silver.” But they also suggested I fish The Big Wood above Magic Reservoir instead of really directing me to the Saw Tooth range before Stanley.

Here’s the situation, with Silver Creek it was made famous by none other than Ernest Hemmingway, and later his son Jack turned a nice chunk into a preserve. The preserve has a ranger station that you are supposed to check in at, and sign your name, which we didn’t and some fishing gentleman let Johnny know was poor manners. The preserve is naturally catch & release only, barbless hooks and they encourage you use only one fly on your line.

The name of the river fits its appearance: placid, slow moving, calm crystal clear natural spring water. When you approach its pristine banks and see the big trout crusading all over, slurping bugs off the top water--you see the reason for all the excitement.

In my previous blog entry, I explain the extensive education these fish have received by countless Orvis decked dry fly fishing chaps, throwing hoppers, trico’s pmd’s—you name it. As with all fishing, the trick is to get them to take your fake feather and beads wound on a hook to look like the real thing, that the guides told you are hatching. In their favor the local guides do tell you that whatever they sell you probably won’t work. Even if you are the school master himself, you are told to not be shocked if you get schooled. They say if you hook a handful in a day to be happy.

I’m just not at that place as a fisherman, and I also don’t buy into the idea that dry fly fishermen are somehow higher up on the food chain. Perhaps my day will come when I catch so many fish nymphing that I only enjoy getting fish to rise to the top for me, but that day is not today.

Silver Creek you are handsome, your waters are mind-blowing, your fish are astounding, what man doesn’t like Hemmingway? But yet I have to rate you the salad on my meal, and call you the first base runner. FYI: we did catch a Silver Creek Ph.D.’s and had some very close misses in an afternoon. I didn’t have any success doing it the way I was told, casting up river just spooked them, instead I cast down river and swing it through.

See chapter 2 The Big Wood "2nd base/wild rice