St. Joe, Idaho.

After Vancouver Island, we went to Spokane for a race. It was a fun time and Mojdeh was able to compete in her first Olympic distance triathlon. Her race report is here. Sunday afternoon, we stopped by a fly shop in Spokane. The info that they gave us was fantastic. Stop by the Silver Bow fly shop in Spokane if you ever get the chance. We drove to the St. Joe river in Idaho for another 3 day fishing trip. God, I love my life.

Gorgeous waters with even better looking fish.

We found a spot that was magical as soon as we arrived. I nailed a couple of 16" cutthroat trout in a the first few hours that we were there. Next task was to find a place to sleep. There were lots of campsites along the river. For $6 a night we had a fire pit with a grill, bathrooms, and drinking water.

 

Cutties galore.

Oh yeah, and it was a stone's throw from the river. I was too happy to sleep or eat, but we brought the usual steaks, potatoes, and onions, etc. so that we could have a large leftover lunch the next day.

Campsite location was ideal.

 

Moth making a fatal landing.

In the evening, I walked up to a large pool and found fish coming to the surface and eating the large moths that landed for too long in the river. They would be feeding within 15 feet of where I was standing. It was amazing.

 

My view looking downstream.

I caught a couple there the first night. One of them had some holes near his head. I thought he had gotten into a fight with another fish, but it might have been an Osprey. Another fisherman told me that the Ospreys live nearby and prey on fish that are hooked and dragged to the surface by fishermen. I wasn't sure if I believed him (fishermen have been know to exaggerate from time to time) until I saw the birds myself.

One of 3 hungry birds I saw!

Here is the fish with holes.

We also saw snakes, bald eagles, deer, all sorts of wildlife. It was a quite far away place with great fishing. I loved it. The fishing the next day wasn't as good as the first day that we were there, but it was fun all the same.

 One of my faves.

This fish was awesome. Well where he was sitting was awesome. You can see the fast water behind me hits a rock. It was a difficult drift and required a well timed strike to catch the fish, but I somehow managed. So after a few days, we headed back to Seattle. Now we are kickin' it with Ben and Courtenay.