Another Day in Paradise

Yesterday I made my first trip up North since February, and it turned out to be a fantastic day.  After attending the Idaho Rivers United breakfast, Scott Harder and I got out of town at about 9:30.  When we showed up, it was windy and cold, but over the course of the day the wind died down and the sun came out.  With the incredible scenery of the Salmon River, it turned in to a truly beautiful day.

After getting blanked on our first few spots, we took a walk and found a good looking run.  Scott gave me honors, and on about my third cast my indicator plummeted, and it was on.  This fish was unusually bright for this stage in the game, and she took three hard runs before I could get my hand around her tail.

Now that the skunk was off the rods Scott stepped in and started working through the run.  He hooked a hot fish that decided to release itself after a nice tail walk right in front of us.  After that fish popped loose, I stepped back in, and it wasn't long before I was hooked up again.  

We went fishless in the next few spots, but of last stop of the day was a good one.  Scott and I took turns casting in to the same slot of water and missing fish after fish.  We managed to land a couple, but the principal activity in that particular hole was laughter, due to the terrible ratio of fish hooked to fish landed.   

After a great day, we were welcomed back in to Stanley with one of the best views on the planet.  The clouds had opened up to reveal a panorama of jagged, snow covered mountains...not a bad way to end the day.