Northern Pike 2023

After a highly successful trip in 2022, Katie and I were eager to make the annual North Idaho pike trip in 2023. Over the last several years, we felt we'd finally begun to "crack the code" on the ol' gators of the north. However, this year would challenge us more than ever.

As we idled into the first lake on the first night, we realized the water was already warmer than we expected. 

As we fished, we also realized 70 degree water resulted in more weed growth. In fact, most of the spots we had fished in the past were already choked out with weeds, making fishing difficult. 

Our first evening of fishing produced a largemouth bass hook-up and a boat-side pike blowup.

On our second outing, we tried a new lake. Once again, the water was warmer than we wanted and we ended up focusing our efforts on deeper, shadowed banks with trees and logs. Katie began to get some pike action. 

Most of Katie's hookups were right at the boat. Over the last couple of years, Katie has learned to experiment with the action of her fly once it gets close to the boat. Whether she knows a pike is following her fly or not, she changes the action of her retrieve; she lets it fall, gives it a couple of quick pops, changes its trajectory or simply lets it dangle for 30 seconds. It's amazing how well this works for her. 

For one reason or another, her fish kept getting off. We finally put one in the net, only to lose the next fish; a larger one of course, to a submerged tree. We broke off 2 flies on fish; something we rarely do. 

We finished our first full day of fishing with only one pike to hand, and several hookups, with Katie having most of those.

The next day we rode the Route of the Hiawatha; a fun experience that we both recommend highly. 

Katie's parents made the trek north and joined us for a few days. Katie's dad, Rick, had never caught a pike and was eager to give it a try since "we had it dialed". Rick joined us in the boat for several outings over several days. Everywhere we went, we struggled. We tried finding cooler water or fishing in the evenings. Fishing different weed beds or bank types. Fishing deeper, slower retrieves and smaller flies; nothing was working. 

The only fish we managed to catch in several days was a small crappie and a snagged bluegill. 

The scenery is always splendid and the wildlife is hard to beat. In the afternoons we went on several, "turtle rides", looking for painted turtles; a critter we don't get to see on a regular basis down south.

We had to face the facts that we were simply too late this year. The winter had been more mild and the spring warmer than previous years. It was time to move on.

My Aunt Connie and Uncle Jeff have a cabin home in Heron, Montana. I used to spend most of my summers here as a kid. Connie and Jeff had recently moved back here full time. Katie and I planned to stay with them for a few days for some quality catching up time. 

Connie and Jeff are in the process of renovating the cabin. It felt good to return to a place full of so many childhood memories. 

Connie and Jeff were excited to go out in the boat with us and try some fishing. The following day we set out for a spot Katie and I had done very well at last year. 

We quickly realized this years water was much lower as we pulled into the first slough and the boat barely floated in. Darn, this year was challenging us! We casted around in the first spot and surprisingly had a couple encounters in the weed choked, shallow slough. Jeff had a hit, and Katie had a follow from a medium-sized pike. 

We moved onto another spot where I hooked a pike that jumped out of the net. We tried a few more spots and had a couple more encounters before the afternoon heat had us worn out. This trip was sure humbling us. 

   

That afternoon we visited some nearby giant cedar trees! 

The following day we decided to try fishing again. This time we hit the water earlier and were a bit more sneaky when entering some of the sloughs, and it paid off. 

We finally began to get some pike action. Most of the love was on my flies however. 

We drifted into a good bass area and went into bass mode; A much needed switch in tactics for everyone in the boat. The smallmouth were fat and eager to eat.

They were digging the slow, side to side action of our flies so we switch to a jerk bait on the spinning rod for Connie and Jeff and it began working quite well!

The flies continued to work and and we even began to fish topwater. My uncle Jeff was giddy as the bass blew up on his surface lure.

"These bass are fun!" My aunt Connie said, after catching another.

Our trip was nearing its end and I began to accept that this year we had gotten our butts kicked. We said our goodbyes to my aunt and uncle after a great 3 days of quality time. On our way home though, I had saved a few hours to check out a lead I'd gotten from a bass angler on the previous years trip; "We caught a few 40 inch pike on glide baits at this spot. You should check it out if you're into pike." The gentlemen shared the location with me and I figured it was worth investigating if we had time.

We launched the boat for the final time on our North Idaho pike trip. The water was calm, clear and inviting, but storm clouds were already beginning to build. We cruised over to the spot and were happy to find dark, patchy weed beds in 5-10 ft of water. This looks good. The water temps were 68-70; better for sure.

We started casting our 8" pike flies and retrieving them just over the tops of the weeds. The clear water enabled us a clear view of our flies the entire retrieve; and see if anything was following. 

"Oh! Big pike!" Katie squeaked as she gave her fly a few erratic pops next to the boat. 

I looked back and could clearly see the 30" gator right on her fly's tail. She tried her boat-side Katie magic but the fish slunk back into the shadows. That was a good sign. If we caught just one pike like that it would save the whole trip! 

We continued casting. Not 3 strips into one of my retrieves, a big gator suddenly appeared, devouring my fly. I set the hook and he charged for the weeds. I had zero control and soon the fish was deep in the weeds. I pulled hard and slowly brought the fish out of the weeds along with a Costco-sized quantity of lake salad. I eventually won the battle and we finally had a big pike in the boat.    

Katie was on next with another great fish!

The next couple hours were the best pike fishing we'd ever had together. Clear water and big, hungry pike in the 28-36 inch range.

Our flies began to show the effects of a pike's mouth.

The storm clouds continued to build and as the lightning began to flash atop the nearby mountains, we knew our incredible fishing was over. 

The final spot in the last hours made the whole trip. As Katie and I loaded the boat back up and started our drive south, we had smiles you couldn't erase. Next year, we'd spend a little more time prospecting that new water, and just maybe, hit that 40" mark.

Steelhead 2023

 Clearwater Steelhead, March 2023

My anticipation for this year's annual guy trip was high; steelhead returns were the highest they had been in awhile. As the months before March slowly drug on and winter continued to cling, I knew we may be in for some tough fishing. The rivers were low, clear and cold; not ideal steelhead conditions. In fact, the flows were significantly lower than the lowest I'd ever fished. Our trip was set, however, and we would make the most of it. 

We knew there were plenty of fish in the big river so we brought the boats. If we couldn't catch fish in the little river, we'd find them in the main. Camron also found us a fantastic Airbnb, so we'd at least be comfortable for the 4 snowy days we would be there. 

"Makin' memories 2023!" Camron exclaimed as Richard, Kevin and myself loaded into the trucks with 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground in Boise. 

We arrived, dropped off the boats at the rental house and then hit the river. We ended up at "The Big Rock Hole". The Big Rock is a super deep hole that always holds some fish. We all fished hard that first afternoon, with Camron grabbing the first fish of the trip on a bobber and bead and Kevin with the second, bobber-dogging a purple corky. Richard and I also each briefly hooked fish; at least we were on the board. 

Day 2 we decided to split up; Camron and Richard went to "The Private Hole" and Kevin and I hit a new spot recommended to us by a friend. As the early morning darkness turned to light, steelhead began to porpoise, stirring our optimism. By 10am, we were still fish-less and so were Camron and Richard at their spot. Kevin and I left our spot and began exploring while Camron and Richard stuck it out at The Private Hole. 

At noon, we all decided to scrap the little river and fish the main in the boats. We started at a new location that had been recommended by a friend. The water was deep, dark and screamed steelhead, but the water was just too vast. We tried to cover as much water as we could but never tied into a fish. 

We then relocated to a place we had fished last time with some success. With just an hour or so of daylight to spare, we launched the boats and tried to salvage the dismal day. We were all quite discouraged having not landed a single fish this day. I was loading my boat back on the trailer when I looked upriver to see Kevin's boat drifting downstream with the net out. Apparently Richard had saved the day with a fish at last light as they free-drifted back to the launch.

 

Day 3 found us at The Private Hole; for Camron and Richard had seen some guys have some success in the run below. We call this run "Moe's Run". We split up, with 2 of us below in Moe's Run and 2 of us in the hole. Neither group had any success until about 10 am when I moved down to Moe's Run. I made a cast, drifting my indicator right down the waves in the main current. My indicator sunk and I just stared at it. The indicator stayed down for several seconds before I thought, I guess I better at least try a hookset. It's probably just the bottom but you never know. I set the hook and a steelhead came alive, dancing on the end of my line. I was quite surprised to say the least. After a short battle, we scooped the fish into the net and I was on the board with my first steelhead of the trip.

As the day progressed, Camron picked one up in the run and then Kevin followed suit.

Some of our "friends" just downstream of us slowly relocated to some slack-water I assumed would never hold fish. We could see them pointing in the water and casting to where they had been pointing. Then they starting catching fish. I had to walk downstream to see what the fuss was all about. Turns out they were sight-casting to cruising groups of steelhead; something we never get to do because the water is never this low and clear. They began picking up fish on a regular interval and invited us to join. It was pretty fun to see a 3 foot fish in 4 feet of clear water eat your fly. We all gave it shot and picked up a few fish.

We finished the day much more successful than the previous, with everyone landing a few fish. 

Day 4 we decided to return to The Big Rock. We knew there were fish there and it also gave us the option to fish the corner hole below. We thought if the morning was slow, we'd return to the main with the boats. 

The morning started slow like most do. Camron and Kevin moved downstream and disappeared around the corner, leaving Richard and I to prospect the super deep, cold waters of The Big Rock. An hour or so had gone by and Camron and Kevin had still not returned. Richard decided to grab his things and venture down there to see how they were doing. I continued casting, but after another 45 minutes alone I wondered if something good was happening down there. Then I saw Camron hiking back up.

"Dude, you gotta get down here. We're in the run below and it's stacked with fish. I landed one, Kevin lost one and the guy across from us has hooked like 8 since we've been there." 

I hastily grabbed my gear, anxious for some fish and also a walk, because my feet were freezing! We came around the corner to see Richard hooked up and Kevin ready with the net. The sun was also starting to shine; life was good! 

I squeezed into the run at the top above Camron and was into a small fish in short order. I decided the little hatchery male would come home with me and get smoked. 

Richard hooked into another, then Camron. How did we luck into a spot stacked with fish? 

Despite the success we were having, I was intrigued by the corner hole above us. No one had tried it this morning and I knew there would be fish in it; I'd just have to learn how to fish it. I crossed the river at the riffle above it and began looking around. Areas I thought were deep and un-wadable were actually shallow shelfs that dropped off quickly into deep water. This spot was looking better with each step! I got in a good looking spot and began casting. I was practically fishing off my rod tip when my indicator slowly sunk. I set the hook hard and felt the slow give and take of a large winter steelhead. Score! It's always fun learning new spots and having success when you figure out where the fish are located. 

The fish popped off after a short fight and I resumed casting. My very next cast resulted in another hookup. After that one came off, my third cast brought forth another. By now, Kevin had come up with the net to give me a hand. 

"Kevin, you gotta get up here and join me. This spot is sweet, and this is 3 casts for 3 fish!" I said, as Kevin helped me net the fish.

Kevin then got into prime position and it wasn't long before he was into his first fish of the day, and his first steelhead on a fly rod!

By noon, the action had slowed in the run below and all 4 of us were fishing in the corner hole. The action wasn't slow for us though; we were consistently hooking up, including our first double of the day.

The sun was shining and fish were coming to the net! Richard landed a 38 inch hatchery male and I landed a 37 inch wild male.

Richard hooked up, then myself; sweet, another double! We scooped both fish into the net and I looked upstream to see Kevin set the hook on a fish. Wow, a triple! 

"Dude, we've never had a triple." I said, now holding the net.

"Well shoot! I better at least try to get us a quadruple." Camron added, grabbing his rod.

Just as we were netting Kevin's fish with the same net that was holding the other 2, Camron hooked up. All of us lost our minds. This had turned into an outstanding day. Netting a fish with three 30+ inch steelhead already in the net was no easy feat, but we did it. This is also a good reason to pack a large net when steelhead fishing. I walked downstream to recruit a camera man to catch this unforgettable moment.  

We sent the 4 fish back to the depths and celebrated with hugs, high fives and deep sighs. We continued on, for the afternoon was still young. Fishing continued to be hot until nearly sunset. We even had another double!

By evening we had finally had our fill. As we packed up our gear, we just shook our heads. Somehow, with arguably the worst river conditions we had probably ever fished, we managed to have the single most productive day ever. The 4 of us hooked 47 fish and landed 31; epic in the true sense of the word.