Springtime Owyhee Trip Turns Slimy

We are officially in springtime slack, and fishing options have become a bit limited.  Warm temps have thrown a wrench in the steelhead season, and the Wood and Silver creek are closed.  Magic Valley Reservoir and the Big Lost are very fishable, but this week Rob and I decided to try something a little different.  My good buddies Ian and Steven put together a last minute Owyhee trip, and we quickly signed on.  A trip to the desert sounded like a great treat, and the chance of big browns eating dry flies was too much to pass up.  We got an early start on Thursday, and by noon we were knee deep in the tailwater.  Fishing was decent that afternoon.  There were no major hatches, but we managed to fool some fish with nymphs and streamers.  We fished three or four spots, and after a few fish in each we headed for camp.  We made a big fire and scrambled to put rain flies on in the rain.  After warming up around the fire, we made a move to the tents and slept off a days worth of double hauling and Budweiser.

I woke up to a baking tent on Friday, and it didn't take us long to realize that no-one had brought sunscreen.  The beautiful weather overshadowed the slow fishing, and we spent just as much time shooting the breeze on the bank as we did in the water.  The first and only hot fishing of the trip occurred Friday night.  We found a pod of rising fish and picked up a few before it got dark.  Each of us took turns casting to rising heads, and during Ian's shift, I witnessed one of the most improbable doubles ever.  Ian rose a nice fish on a BWO, and after a good fight, he brought it to the net.  He put his rod in his mouth, so he could handle the fish and the net at the same time while letting his fly drag behind him in the water.  Before the fish was out of his hands, his rod started going off in his teeth, and it was apparent that all of our efforts to match the hatch and figure out all the details of the river were a complete waste of time.  This fish had eaten a size 20 baetis dragging about 15 feet behind four guys.  Ian quickly released fish number one and started fighting fish number two.  After a quick fight, he had single handedly landed about 34 inches of fish in one cast.  Knowing we couldn't top what had just happened, we called it a night.  Ian and Steven had to make the trip back to McCall, but Rob and I decided to stick around for one more day.  

On Saturday, the greater Treasure Valley descended on the Owyhee River Canyon, and there wasn't a rock left vacant.  Rob and I had had enough combat fishing for one day, so we went to check out the reservoir.

This is when things got a little strange.  While driving along the lake, Rob spotted cruising carp.  Not only were they cruising, but they were sipping something on the surface.  Any chance of going back to fish the river was now gone; it was carp time.  These fish inspected every fly closely, but they took some small dries.  These were the first carp either of us had ever caught, and their extremely slow dry fly takes were pretty neat.  I still firmly believe that carp are big, gross, slimy creatures, but it was quality entertainment and a great way to end the trip.