Idaho River Trips Archives

Middle Fork of the Salmon River in the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return

February 3rd, 2011

The Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho is the premier wilderness rafting trip in the US. It flows 100 miles of Wild and Scenic free-flowing river through the largest wilderness area in the US. The canyon is the second deepest in North America. The Middle Fork of the Salmon is unspoiled, remote and roadless so you can be sure you will “get away from it all”. Simply put, it is the best river run in the West!

Middle Fork River Expeditions, licensed and bonded outfitter, has run safe and well-managed river trips on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho and are celebrating our 30^th Anniversary in 2010. Trips are 4 or 6 days of exciting river rafting, wilderness camping, fine fishing, and adventure travel. Our equipment is specially designed for wilderness whitewater rafting, and offers mild and wild boat choices (oar boats, paddle boats, inflatable kayaks and stand up paddling surf boards!). Our river guides are seasoned professionals, licensed by the state of Idaho and First Aid Certified. They are expert river runners, magnificent cooks, great storytellers, and knowledgeable, helpful outdoorsmen.

Join Middle Fork River Expeditions for a magical wilderness river vacation this summer!

Steelhead Fishing, Idaho Style: A Story

January 28th, 2011

Let’s take a trip town to Riggins to do some steelhead fishing, Idaho style. The nights are cold this time of year, so we can’t expect the fishing to be anything other than tough, but sometimes the river just calls. When that happens, you don’t have any choice but to make do with what the river will give you.

The drive out to Riggins will be relaxing; the snow is receding and the deer and elk are out in force by the sides of the roads — nature is getting in on this little trip long before we’ve gotten anywhere near the river. Did you bring binoculars, or a spotting scope? There’s a magnificent bull elk that hands out regularly at the rest area just this side of Rapid River; if you’re lucky, we’ll see him along the way.

Once we get to Riggins, we’re going to be putting down in a couple of places: Short’s Bar and the Riggins Park. Each is teeming with steelhead, but getting a bite won’t be as easy as it sounds in this weather; everyone’s feeling conservative in the cold, even the fish. The gentle breeze combines with the midday sun to make it actually pretty warm out, but we miss the first hit of the day because we’re distracted by a deer.

Finally, a few hours and a couple of lure changes later, the first hit! It’s a small crappie jig, so we have to fight the steelhead carefully — and fight it does. Several minutes later, certain of our victory, we start to reel the tired fish in, only to have the hook go straight on us, and the steelhead start making its way back to the Pacific.

As the evening starts to set in and the midday warmth leaves, we huddle in and devote ourselves to fishing Idaho‘s most elusive steelhead until we have something to bring home. Finally, an hour later, as the first drips of what promises to be a small monsoon start to fall, another solid hit, and this one doesn’t seem to have the will to fight — good thing, too, because neither do we. But our desire to put this trip in the ‘win’ column wins out over our fear of getting wet and the steelhead’s determination to be anything other than our dinner.

Victory is sweet.

Middle Fork of the Salmon Drift Boat Fishing

January 21st, 2011

MFRE just purchased two 16 foot Hog Island Mckenzie Drift boats to use this summer. These boats have large padded casting braces on the bow and stern. This makes for some amazing fishing. These boats are also indestructable, made of HDPE plastic in a process called Roto- Molding. There is a You Tube video about chainsawing one in half and it still floats with three fisherman floating in a lake! Amazing. The stern has a large captains chair fishing seat and the bow has a 125 qt padded cooler to sit on.

Come Join us this summer on the Middle Fork of the Salmon in style with these new drift boat options.

Fish on!

Yours for rivers, James

Steel Head, Drift Boat: Idaho Awaits

January 21st, 2011

If you’re into steelhead fishing from a drift boat Idaho has some of the best places in the world to get your lure on. Drift boat fishing is probably the most common method used to catch steelhead, but it’s also one of the hardest to get good at. You’ve got to have the right equipment, a clear understanding of how steelhead move and think, and the ability to distinguish between hooking a steelhead and bouncing your lure off of a rock or a log.

That last part is the hardest. When you’re dragging a piece of lead with a lure and hook attached across the bottom of one of Idaho’s hundreds of lakes or rivers, you’re always going to run into natural debris at the bottom of your waters of choice. Even steelhead fishermen with decades of experience have been known to pull up their line after what they thought was a simple rock bump and found evidence of a bite that they simply misread. The mastery of this skill is beyond the scope of this simple article, however: you’re just going to have to learn through experience.

Fortunately, while the skills may take a lifetime to master, you can get started drift boat fishing Idaho with a small investment in the right gear.

The Rod
Your drift boat fishing rod needs to be firm enough that you can feel the bottom as you bounce over the rocks and gravel, but flexible enough to not snap when a big steelhead starts fighting you from 30 or 50 yards out.

The Reel
Your reel needs to match your rod. A bait casting reel — or level wind — takes some getting used to, but they are very effective drift fishing tool, as they let you release additional line while maintaining control. If you’re using light lures or fishing from the banks in areas with lots of natural obstacles, a spinning reel can be the superior choice.

The Line
Your line can be braided or mono according to your preference, but should generally run at least in the 10- to 15-pound test range.

Leaders
When drift boat fishing, you’ll always want a leader that’s lighter than your main line, because the chances of getting snagged on something and having the line break are much greater than in other styles of fishing.

All of the other gear choices are essentially matters of opinion, but follow this advice with your gear, and learn to master the art of telling a bump from a bite, and you’ll be well on your way to drift boat fishing Idaho like the veterans.

Exploring The Many Idaho Whitewater Rafting Adventures

January 14th, 2011

Idaho whitewater rafting means exploring more than three thousand miles of rivers — more than any of the other lower 48 — through trips easy enough for a five-year-old and trips that will challenge the best whitewater rafters on the planet. The mighty rivers of Idaho can be tamed in rafts, kayaks, canoes, drift boats, jet boats or whitewater dories. Idaho also offers hundreds of experienced guides and licensed outfitters to help you get your whitewater on no matter what level you’re at.

The trips can last anywhere from six hours of drifting down a river, to week-long camping trips that stop at some of the most astounding natural tourist attractions in the United States. The longer trips involve everything you associate with traditional camping, from gourmet fireside cooking to fishing for your supper.

Here are some of the best Idaho river journeys the Gem State has to offer:

Snake River

The flatlands in southern Idaho lull you into a false sense of security as you watch the beautiful scenery float by…and then, the Snake plunges you into Hell’s Canyon. The South Fork will show you some top-notch fly fishing and pleasant rafting trips until you hit the rough-and-tumble Murtaugh area just east of Twin Falls.

Payette River

Just north of Boise, the Payette offers fairly easy paddling, with the South Fork fairly calm and the North Fork offering up Class III rapids at the worst — an area known as the Cabarton Run. The Payette also offers top-tier half-day trips for beginners and families.

Salmon River

The Salmon River is by far the best. Known as the “River of No Return” for some of its dangerous stretches, the Salmon also offers long, beautiful stretches of easy drifting if that’s your speed. Famous as one of the best catch-and-release trout fisheries in the world, the Salmon runs through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the single largest designated wilderness areas in the lower 48. The Middle Fork of the Salmon offers trips of 3, 5, and 7 days that explore this heartstoppingly beautiful area.

No matter which river you pick — even one of the dozens that aren’t mentioned here — a single Idaho whitewater rafting trip will etch its mark upon your heart for the rest of your life.

Get The Most Out Of Your Salmon River White Water Rafting Trip

January 7th, 2011

If your goal is to see the outdoors at their wild extreme, a Salmon River white water rafting trip is Idaho’s answer to your need. If you’ve got the drive to feel your pulse pounding in every part of your body as you pit yourself against some of nature’s best worst, you’ll find it here. Whether your passion is for kayaks, rafts, or the more dangerous whitewater dories, Idaho can accommodate — and do it in some of the most starkly beautiful natural settings on Earth.

Of course, if Idaho whitewater rafting is on your agenda, you’ll soon end up at the Salmon River. With two different locations featuring different levels of difficulty and intensity, the Salmon River can fit any whitewater agenda. The main fork of the Salmon is known as the River of No Return — if you’re not already an experienced whitewater rafter, the main fork probably isn’t the place for you. The middle fork, on the other hand, is a much more family-friendly environment where people as young as five years old can participate freely in the rafting trips.

It’s important to stress that the main fork of the Salmon is for experienced rafters with top-notch equipment. If you don’t have a few years of whitewater rafting under your belt, all the right gear, and a guide, the River of No Return may just live up to its name. The middle fork is only available for family trips from July through September, but there are several 5-day and 6-day trips that will bring you through some of the most intensely beautiful natural settings you will ever experience.

The best part about the middle river rafting trips is that each day will take you not just down the river, but also past other natural tourist attractions that are worth stopping at and enjoying on their own. The trips are the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors in a variety of ways. Whichever part of the river you choose, you’re sure to bring back memories of Idaho’s beauty which will last you for your entire life.

Fishing Idaho: The Gem State’s Hidden Gems

December 31st, 2010

In terms of the sheer variety of outdoor recreational activities like hiking and fishing Idaho is one of the most diverse places in America. The locals tend to take these everyday pleasures for granted as part of their live here in the Gem State, but visitors to our neck of the woods will find it beckons them to return again and again.

To Idaho’s natives, fishing is a way of life. No one asks if an Idaho man fishes, but rather when, and where. With thousands of miles of rivers and creeks — more than in any other state except maybe Alaska — and more than two thousand lakes and reservoirs, you can fish your whole life away and never stand in the same place twice.

Idaho’s fishermen, both native and migrant, quest out every spring to Lake Pend Oreille, Lake Coeur d’Alene, and Priest Lake up north, on the lookout for the Kamloops Trout, the Mackinaw Trout, and the fresh-water Chinook Salmon. Some of them chase down the elusive White Sturgeon, a magnificent creature that can live for a century and weighs as much as a small car. The Snake and Salmon Rivers are the best places to hunt down that unique game fish — but it’s best to bring a licensed professional with you; they’re not easy prey.

The rivers here in the Gem State are packed with all kinds of Salmon and Sturgeon and a giant mess of Steelhead, probably the most popular game fish in the state. Fishermen after those fish should head to the Clearwater, the Little Salmon, the Lower Salmon, the Upper Salmon, and the Snake Rivers.

Of course, it’s Trout fishing that made Idaho famous. Every creek, river, and lake in the state seems to be teeming with all manner of Trout. Trout can be snagged on bait spinners, flies, and just about any kind of lure. You can go trout fishing on a drift boat, from a kayak, an innertube, or a dock, or even just standing on the shore.

And no mention of all the fishing Idaho has to offer would be complete without mentioning the Whitefish, Perch, Walleye, Northern Pike, Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Bluegills, Crappies, Catfish, and other warm-water fish that await the fishermen in the southern part of the state.

Yeah, there’s pretty much every kind of sport fishing, vacation fishing, and even occasionally survival fishing here in the Gem State, and the friendly folks here will be happy to help you find that perfect spot to have a perfect afternoon catching the perfect fish. That’s why the locals call Idaho the Fisherman’s Paradise.