Living on River Time

Those Aren’t “Wind” Knots…

I am not an expert fly fisherman, nor will I ever claim to be.

I started fly fishing a year and a half ago, and I have struggled, triumphed, gotten angry, celebrated, cursed, caught fish, and lost a lot of fish.

Growing up spin fishing and bass fishing, I always looked at fly fishing as something more sophisticated and something, well, retired people did. My grandfather fly fished. My great-grandfather fly fished. My father fly fished…sometimes.

My father has a bamboo fly rod from my great-grandfather which has been an heirloom of our family. It is ancient, and can only be held in this careful, meticulous manner. So, growing up, I was always in wonder of fly fishing, and really considered it a fine art like painting or sculpting. All of my previous experiences in art class clearly told me that I wasn’t an artist, so I shied away from fly fishing as much as possible. I stood in the background and watched with wonder how a cast could look like painting the sky, and how an artificial fly could be made to float, hover, and land like a real bug.

I finally picked up fly fishing after several fishing trips with Wes, and a conversation that went along the lines of: “well, you never thought you would enjoy whitewater rafting either.”

Thanks. Thanks for that.

They’re “Casting” Knots…

I started fly fishing. I also started breaking tippet, snapping off flies, getting tangled in a mess of line, catching trees, catching sticks, hooking into fish, loosing fish, and falling in the water. It wasn’t until after a few trips that I actually landed my first fish, and it wasn’t until several trips later that I caught my first high-mountain lake fish. From then on, I haven’t been able to put my fly rod down.

This weekend we returned to one of the first high-mountain lakes I caught fish at, and brought along a new friend. He is another avid fly fisherman and is new to the southern Idaho area. Naturally, we took him out to show him what the area has to offer.

Baker Lake

Baker Lake is a popular moderate hike for people just getting into backpacking and high-mountain fishing. It’s a fairly easy hike at the edge of the Sawtooth National Forest, and is often visited by day hikers and day fisherman. If you’re going to fish Baker, it’s important to know that it is single, barbless hooks, and artificials only. No bait is allowed (IDFG, 2018). All of the other bag limits and rules can be found on the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) website. Essentially, the rules keep the population sustainable, so just keep that in mind when you’re visiting. I mean, there’s not many of us who are willing to hike in a bunch of trout in a backpack every few years (IDFG, 2009).

The hike up to Baker is just shy of two miles, and consists of one stream crossing and switchbacks that lead up to the bowl where the lake sits. According to the Outdoor Project the trail head starts at an elevation of 7,935, so the nice part about the hike is you’re already starting at a higher elevation (2018). The lake itself sits at 8,810 feet with just shy of 1,000ft elevation gain between the lake and the start of the trail. You’ll feel it if you’re not completely used to hiking at these higher elevations, but know that you can take your time. The lake won’t go anywhere.

The views along the way are beautiful. Wildflowers and the charred timber make for a beautiful contrast, especially during this time of year.

Notice how I haven’t gotten to the fishing yet. Well, that’s because we didn’t land anything. Our friend landed a nice brown, but the fish we saw cruising were little, and determined to feed off the bottom. The others we cast to would inspect, wonder, contemplate, and decide to swim away. The float tubers were having a peachy time slaying them out in the middle of the lake. Yes, I was happy for them. Yes, I was also slightly jealous.

Meanwhile Wes walked the perimeter once, twice, three times and still didn’t see or get anything. I threw just about everything in my box from tiny to chicken-sized dry flies, nymphs, and minnow streamers. I had a few chase the streamer, but still didn’t get anything. It was comforting that when the fishing turned off for the float tubers, we also stopped seeing fish altogether. I can only assume that they went deep. This was a much different trip than last year’s end-of-Canada trip that brought us to Baker. But a lot can happen in a year, and it’s hard to tell if it was just the day, our gear, the amount of fish willing to eat or a combination of just terrible timing and luck.

In the end, we had a lunch of granola, string cheese, and backpacking brownies, and spent the rest of the day enjoying the scenery.

And that’s the reality of fishing. Sometimes you have to be prepared with tasty snacks and a camera. Just in case the fishing doesn’t quite turn out the way you want it to.

 

 

 

 

For more information on Baker Lake and stocking information visit:

Idaho Department of Fish and Game: https://idfg.idaho.gov/ifwis/fishingplanner/water/?id=15208

The Outdoor Project: https://www.outdoorproject.com/adventures/idaho/hikes/baker-lake-hike

High Mountain Lakes Stocking Program: http://www.rmpc.org/files/nwfcc/2009/30B-HMLS_Idaho_with_Movie.pdf