2 Headed Trout in SE Idaho - Simplot Selenium Pollution

Trout deformities have been popping up in SE Idaho creeks that sit underneath Simplot's Smoky Canyon Phosphate Mine.  There would appear to be a connection to selenium pollution.

Simplot's goal of maintaining no more that 22 parts per million of selenium in creek water is often exceeded, according to an independent environmental report, and the two-headed trout is the most eye-popping of the deformities.

Naturally, Simplot officials aren't taking any responsibility, but they are stating that they will be working closely with the State of Idaho and the feds in regard to pollution.  In other words, they give stock, corporate, politically-correct answers when pushed on the issue.

Selenium pollution in waters near phosphate mines in SE Idaho has been blamed for hundreds of livestock deaths.

The concern over the trout is not only the current deformities being found, but by in-migrating trout that will take over habitat that was once occupied by non-reproductive, selenium poisoned trout.  If selenium is to blame, but its pollution isn't strictly regulated, a sink hole for trout could be created.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide has the fuller story here.

~ J. Bunch

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Yellowstone Cutthroat Populations Stable?

The population is stable now, according to some data, but that doesn't mean there aren't challenges ahead.  And the key is to keep the species out from under the Endangered Species Act.  The IF&G has made that one of its priorities in its management of the Yellowstone Cutthroats.  We've seen how sticky it gets when wolves and grizzlies get all tangled up with the ESA, and IF&G believes that management of those animals could best be done without having to walk the federal government tight-rope.

IF&G Director Virgil Moore addressed the issue at the annual conference of the Henry's Fork Watershed Council.  He basically stated that the data has backed up IF&G's management decisions of the Yellowstone Cutthroats, and vice-versa.  And that would not have been possible if they hand their hands tied by the ESA.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle has the full write-up here.

~ J. Bunch

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2012 Salmon Number Predictions Are Up

According to federal, state, and tribal biologists, 2012 salmon numbers should be high.  The estimate is based off of the 2011 jack numbers - how many salmon were counted heading west this last year.  168,000 salmon are estimated to be returning to Idaho this coming season, out of a total of 277,400 (4 year olds) swimming up the Columbia.

Estimates have been fairly reliable.  2011 saw more fish coming back than what was expected.  So this is not an exact science.  You can read more here.

Speaking of salmon estimates, this reminds me of a story that dated back to the 1960's.  Wildlife officials saw that returning salmon numbers were way down.  The IF&G prohibited salmon fishing that year, but Idaho residents would hear nothing of it.  They said - damned if they're going to let the salmon go home, where Oregonians will harvest them anyway.  They might as well harvest the fish before someone else does.  Even in the face of the prohibition, Idahoans were setting up salmon fishing contests.  IF&G beefed up sending more game wardens to the scenes, ready to make arrests.  But folks did what they wanted anyway, certain that no reasonable judge would find them guilty of anything.

~ J. Bunch

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Guest Post - 2011 Thanksgiving: A Trout Fishing Excursion To Remember

What happens when your wife and kids leave you alone for Thanksgiving?  Sit on the couch watching football, getting fat on cardboard pizza all weekend?  Guest Poster Bryan Jones, from Moscow, decided that the most respectful thing to do was to head over to the most beautiful fishing spots in the state, and make good use of the free time.  Bryan originally posted this over at Big Fish Tackle.  Thanks Bryan for sharing. ~ J. Bunch

Last week the wife and kids went to visit the grandparents in Ohio. As a consequence I was left unsupervised for the entire week of Thanksgiving so I did what any self-respecting BFT'er would do - I fished!

After dropping the family off at the airport on Monday in Spokane, I made a quick stop at Cabela's to gear up, and Petco to stock up on Meal worms. I then shot over to my favorite pike spot (where my buddy had just caught a 15 pounder the week before) with high hopes, only to find it covered with one inch of crappy ice. That was a bust. I drove home to Moscow and frantically packed and got out of dodge by about 5:00 or 6:00 pm.

I made it over Lolo just fine, then found a church parking lot in Missoula, and slept in my car for the night (which isn't as fun as it sounds considering I drive a Toyota Camry and I'm not a petite fellow). I woke up at about 05:00 and continued on. I got to Henry's Lake at around 10:00 or 11:00 hoping the morning bite would continue a little longer.

Not really knowing too many access points at the lake, I decided to explore. I found what looked like a spot where my car wouldn't get stuck, and it wasn't even too crowded, so I decided to give it a try. I got my holes drilled and my jigger totters set up and started fishing in about 5 or 6 feet of water, and sure enough it wasn't long before the bite was on!

I caught probably around 20 or so before the bite slowed way down in the afternoon, so I decided to pack it up and do some exploring. I checked out the Fromme (sp?) boat docks to see what all the hubub was about. The ice was a little more sketchy there, only about 4 inches, but I continued on gingerly. I didn't even bring my auger onto the ice, I just walked around to old holes other people had left. I pulled two quick fish out of one hole, then decided to walk around some more. I found a spot where there was a few inches of water on top of perfectly clear ice. It was like fishing in a three foot deep aquarium. Apparently there are sea monsters in that aquarium because a giant swam by. of course he didn't even notice my jig. Pretty soon a big brookie was eyeing the jig so I tried to act cool. I twitched it a couple of times and managed not to jump the gun when she bit. 

I called it a day after that fish, and headed down the hill to St. Anthony to stay with some friends. The big fish for the day were a 19 inch brook and a 20 inch cut with a total of 24 fish.

Bright and early the next morning I was back at it catching more fish. I iced 29 fish that day but they seemed to have a maximum size, and try as I might I couldn't beat my big fish from the day before, though there were a couple of interesting catches. This guy for example came up with a sculpin in his mouth and he had what appeared to be some sort of fishy tattoo of an X on his shoulder.



And this one was one of the the prettiest Yellowstone cutthroats I've ever seen.





The next day (Thanksgiving) I couldn't ignore the Henry's Fork calling my name any longer, so I hit some of my old favorite spots around St. Anthony. I went to Del Rio first thing, but all I caught was a bunch of ice in my guides. I headed down stream to the next spot and started stripping small wooly buggers and started hammering fish! This picture is of my first brown trout in one year, 11 months, and two weeks. I was starting to develop a twitch it had been so long!



He wasn't big but to me he was beautiful.
For the rest of the morning I don't think I went three casts without a bite! This pretty 17 inch fish was the biggest of the morning:



At noon I headed back to the house for an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. The bad news though was that their dining room table is right next to a big bay window overlooking one of my all time favorite fishing spots. She kept calling to me. Being the good guest that I am, I helped clean up and do dishes and such, all the while glancing over at the river, which was still calling my name.

At four-thirty I couldn't take it any more. I slipped my waders back on and slipped out the door. I only had about a half hour of daylight left, but it was better than nothing. I Soon caught another little guy. Then I made one of the few really good casts of the trip. I used a reach cast and put the little streamer about two or three inches from the bank and it drifted under a bush in a little eddy on the side of an island. Sure enough, the fly stopped dead. I set the hook and the fish didn't move! I was pretty ginger in fighting him since I was using 5X tippet. After our brief tug of war I pulled him up onto the grass. While he wasn't the two footer I had hoped for he was 19 inches of angry brown trout. I couldn't have been happier.



Friday brought more of the same, though I didn't catch quite as many. I rounded out the day with 7 fish landed.

Saturday I arranged to meet a buddy and float from Warm River to Ashton. I got there early so I could nymph another favorite spot. Unfortunately the slush monster was out in force that day. But not being one to give up that easily I fished between the slush-bergs, and lo and behold the fish were still there!



The slush monster was nice enough to give up 5 fish but they were all pretty small. When my buddy got there with his boat we debated whether or not to go through with our plan since there was so much slush. We decided to float it anyway.

I threw bigger streamers all day trying for something a little bigger. The slush subsided about 45 minutes into the float, which made things much easier. I only caught two fish but they were both really pretty. One was a 16 inch cut-bow, and the other was a 20 inch brown with the brightest orange spots I've seen!





Having broken the 20 inch mark, I was pretty happy, but we kept on fishing. Just above the Hwy. 20 bridge I set the hook into a solid fish. He immediately surfaced and shook his head, I think to show us how big and bad he was, and in doing so promptly spit the hook. I cried a little. We guessed that he was at least 22 or 23 inches - what the heck, this is my story - we guessed he that he was at least 26 or 27 inches - ya that sounds better.  At any rate I ended the day having caught 7 fish again.

That brings us to Sunday morning. I had to ice fish one more time before heading home. I got to the lake before sunrise and the temperature was some obscene figure like -11 or something like that, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do right?

I was very happy with the results of my trip so far. I had caught some really cool fish, and quite a few to boot, but in the back of my mind there was still that tiny twinge of disappointment that I hadn't got anything big from Henry's Lake (and I was still a little upset from losing that 29 incher on the Henry's Fork the day before).

I decided to walk a little ways to try to fish a little bit deeper and find fish that hadn't been fished so heavily. This was a decision that paid off nicely. The ice was noticeably thicker by this point. I was getting a work out drilling holes with my crappy hand auger, and setting up rods as I got holes drilled. By the time I was on my fourth hole, I had "jigger-tottered" up three fish including another 19 inch brookie. Then the rod in the hole closest to me dipped once then stopped. I walked over and watched it - nothing. I picked it up and jigged it a little and right away a truck hit it! My jig started out seven feet down so the fish had a little bit of room to get his tail behind him and fight properly. It was obvious that this was a different caliber of fish. I caught a glimpse of the tail as it passed under my hole and I saw that it was a big hybrid! He made several runs, and shook his head for what seemed like forever, which prevented me from pulling him through the hole.

I finally got him up in the hole and tried to grab him, but I missed and he sank back down and we started over. On the third time up in the hole I managed to get a finger under his gill plate and slide him up onto the ice! I did a little back flip in my mind and tried to celebrate in a calm, manly way, just in case somebody was watching. He ended up stretching the tape to 25 inches, which was confirmed by the Fish and Game creel surveyor who measured it too.

I caught a couple more before packing it up at 11:00, for a total of 7 fish for the day again. That made a trip total of 6 days fished, 97 fish landed, and probably 9 or 10 fish 20 inches long, and one much bigger! But I couldn't have asked for a more perfect ending to my trip than getting a beautiful Henry's Lake hybrid.


- Thanks goes to Hookedlikeu and gang for taking my picture and sharing advice. 

~ Bryan Jones

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Main Snake Focus

IF&G has long focused on Henry's Fork and the South Fork of the Snake River with its fish management. But recently, more focus has been centered on the main channel of the Snake in SE Idaho.

IF&G has been electro-fishing the river near Osgood, in attempts to find out how many fish are there. This is the first survey they've taken in that locale, and because that portion of the river is under-utilized, they want to know numbers before they make management plans.

Turns out there's some pretty big fish there too. The above photo shows IF&G Biologist Greg Schoby showing off one of his catches - a 31", approximately 15 lb., brown trout.

But there's always other interests in mind in the process of making management plans. The area around Osgood is an important agricultural section of the state. Busch's Clydesdale mural reminds us of that every time we pass by. That malt barley grows so well because it's irrigated. Which means irrigation districts have a strong interest in what the IF&G has planned.

But for the time being, it appears that Idaho Irrigation District is welcoming of IF&G's studies of that section of the river. Hopefully, a we-can-all-work-together attitude is maintained.

One thing is for certain, this picture will spur more fisherman to be on that section of the river this coming year.

More here.

~ J. Bunch

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Millions of $'s, and 24 Contaminated Boats. A Good Deal for Idaho's Waters.

Government check point stations and additional fees paid by boaters and fisherman are always going to be controversial. After all, a lot - A LOT - of money, time, and energy was exerted this past season to find a grand total of 24 zebra or quagga mussel contaminated boats.

Is the money and hassle worth it?

Go ask the folks who used to love fishing Lake Mead.

Yes, I do believe it is worth it. 15 of the contaminated boats came into the state from the Midwest, and 9 came from the Southwest - Lake Mead in Nevada, and Lake Havasu and Lake Pleasant in Arizona.

The State of Idaho spends more than $10 million each year trying to prevent invasive species. Zebra and quagga mussel prevention is part of that $10 million that comes from state funds, property taxes, industry fees, and grants from the federal government.

The point is that many other states who are already infested with invasive mussels spend many more millions of dollars trying to eradicate them than what it would have cost to prevent them in the first place. The invasive mussels latch on and plug everything thing they can, from harmless native mussels to irrigation equipment. The detrimental impact that it has on power companies is in the millions as well. And we all know where power companies pass down their costs to.

Just imagine Henry's Lake, or Cascade Lake, or Lake Pend Oreille being unfishable and unboatable. I'm of the opinion that a 10 minute delay at a check point, or a small fee for a sticker to put on the boat, is worth protecting our waters.

For more info on this last year's catch of mussel contaminated boats, go here.

~ J. Bunch

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Boise Steelhead

This is a guest post by Dale Garrard, telling some great fishing tales. Fortunately, he has the photos to prove those tales. Thanks, Dale!

Couldn't decide what to do today... drive to Riggins and fish? Try and get my 17 year old out of bed to chase deer with his bow, or maybe pheasants with a shotgun on a WMA or something? Heaven forbid I do yard work. My wife said I should go back down to the river in town and give it another shot, since I'd been whining about the fish I lost Thursday night.

Why is my wife always right?

I had my fly rod ready to go, but I also had a bobber rig on a spinning rod I'd tried to figure out. I thought I'd just check and see if I could get the depth right with it for a few casts, then go back to fly fishing, since I know how to do that. I really didn't think I could catch anything with a spinning rig cause I kinda suck at it.

I tried some jigs I had tied, but I had tied them on regular wire jig hooks, and after seeing how bent the hooks got just from pulling snags free, I figured I'd better switch to a store-bought jig on a stout hook.

I jacked around with the depth until I was barely contacting the bottom once in a while, and then I decided to see if I could make the extended downstream drift work. I was just starting to feed some line for a downstream drift when the bobber hung up- which pissed me off because I really thought I had the depth dialed in. I tried to pull the rig free, but it felt like I'd hooked the bottom pretty solidly. And then the bottom started to shake its head.

Even with my spinning rig the fish gave me a nice tussle. I led it up to the bank and let it beach itself- just in time because the poor fish's gum wore out just as I got him there and the hook fell out. A nice 30 inch buck.

I'd been all alone when I was fishing, but people came out of the woodwork when I caught the fish - one lady even pulled off the main road from the bridge into the park to talk to me. Nobody ever told me that all I have to do to make friends is catch big fish. When I turned around, some guy had come out of nowhere and was fishing right where I had been. What a crack up.

By the time I'd finished taking pictures, retying my knots, and (loudly) bonking my fish over the head, the guy had moved out, and I resumed fishing. I figured the fish was just a fluke, but that I might as well give the bobber a few more casts.

I adjusted the depth a few times, and tried to get the depth right again. I tried fishing a little closer to myself, just for fun, but the darn thing got hung up again.

This fish went ballistic - run after run after run. Turned out I had my drag set perfectly. After I got him in and was working on getting the jig out of his mouth, I saw a broken off fly in his mouth. I started chuckling to myself. Yep, I caught this big 'ole fish that some loser couldn't handle.

I know you guys won't believe me - but you probably already guessed where this is going. It was my fly from Thursday night. If you look carefully at the head shot below, you can see the red and black jig I caught him on in the top of his mouth - and the apricot egg pattern I'd tied on a salt-water hook stuck in his lower jaw. I don't blame you guys for not believing it. I couldn't either. A 33 inch buck.

I figured I should get my fly rod going since I'd brought it - and then thought to myself - "what, are you crazy? you could catch a limit for the first time in your life!" I retied my bobber and jig rig, and re-adjusted my depth again until it was right. And the damn bobber got hung up again.

This fish was a major jumper. Good thing the hook was in solid, because he jumped at least ten times, shaking his head like he had a piece of metal rammed through his face or something. A guy who was fishing with his dad down the bank jogged over with his net and helped out, once I'd led the fish to the shallows. This buck was a "little" 27 incher, but was much more silver than the first two.

The guy who netted the fish for me asked if he could bring his dad to my spot, since I was done. I gave him the last of my salad shrimp and showed him how I was rigged. It felt funny, since I really don't know what I'm doing... but I guess I had caught some fish. I hadn't seen another person touch a fish the whole day - fly guys, spinner guys, bobber guys, nobody. Maybe I just get lucky once in a while? Anyway, glad I did what my lovely wife told me to do today.

~ Dale Garrard

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