Here are more pics from the Middle Fork of The Salmon:
Pistol Creek meets the Middle Fork.
Leopard Lilly
Cinquefoil. Pronounced sing ka foil.
Pistol Creek approach.
Here are a few mushrooms growing in a whole from a burned tree in the 2000 Pistol Creek Fire.
Log-jam pools on Pistol Creek created some pretty spectacular cutthroat water.
Bear Valley Creek from the air.
What a way to kick off the season. The Middle Fork and tributaries were clear--highly unusual for this time of year--and relatively low. The wildflowers were blooming: Leopard lillies, arrowleaf balsamroot, scarlet gilia, stonecrop, larkspur, syringa, cinquefoil, etc... The contrast from the 2000 Pistol Creek fire and dead standing trees and the spring-green underbrush was astounding. Wolf scat was scattered on many trails and deer and elk tracks were ubiquitous. Osprey had their young perched high atop dead trees along the river. Mergansers flew up and down the river daily. We found a steelhead sitting at the head of a run on a Middle Fork tributary. It's size trumped the few visible Cutthroat nearby. And ticks were abundant... I have many more pics I'll be posting when I get off the river later tonight.
Here's the Middle Fork of The Salmon and Pistol Creek as seen from the air.
Moonrise light and startrails at 2:30 AM on the Middle Fork.
Not evident here, but our flying weather was poor and after trying to get in after an hour and a half of flying and probing each drainage for a gap in the low ceiling, we gave up and landed in Cascade. We made it into the Middle Fork the next day.
Our pilot, Mike, often just shrugged his shoulders after turning away from a potential but unsafe route due to a low ceiling into the Middle Fork.
Pistol Creek
Pistol Creek airstrip
The magnificent Leopard Lilly
Scarlet Gilia
Here's a moody moving water shot I took a few nights ago on the Big Wood. It's a 30 second exposure at 21mm on my frequently used Nikon 14-24 2.8. I am flying in to the Middle Fork of the Salmon tomorrow for 3 quick days. I won't be posting here until I get back. Looking forward to capturing some in-flight shots. Given the low water at the moment the fishing on Saturday just might be good. It's usually an unfishable mud bath in late May and early June. We'll see...
Should the water not go up on the Lost this weekend the fishing there should be very good. While the water levels should be fishable on the Wood, there are still quite a few spawning fish in the river. Of our 3 main watersheds, rainbows spawn first on the Lost (often beginning the end of Feb.) then Silver Creek (from my recent walks rainbows have been done down there for at least two to three weeks) and finally the Big Wood where the rainbows will probably be done by the second week of June. In any event, in my opinion our stream closures in April and May seem a bit arbitrary. For whatever reason, low water years often fish quite well.
As my guide season is about to commence, I am hoping to post here daily--or as frequently as I can-- photographic journals of what I am seeing on the river. It could be a spinner fall that catches my eye or the man behind the counter in Sammy's Gas station in Mackay. This blog is not meant to be a typical fishing report. If anything, I hope to encourage everyone just how valuable our water is. My approach is usually on the subtle side but you will occasionally be seeing pics of dewatered or altered rivers. As water is a lifesource, I find it first and foremost my most compelling subject and issue.
Here are a few more last light shots taken 2 nights ago at Silver Creek near the Picabo Bridge.
On another note, have you seen or heard of stumbleupon.com? If not, check it out. It's free and you can set it up any number of ways including having it stumble through different photography Web sites. I am a member and feel free to share some of your favorites. Here's the URL: http://www.stumbleupon.com/
Here's a beyond-the-ordinary photographer's site to check out: http://moosepeterson.com/blog/
While Moose Peterson doesn't know me, he has offered and continues to offer incredible advice. He's got a great site and is very generous--generous is an understatement--with sharing his photography knowledge both behind the lens and in the digital darkroom. His enthusiasm toward photography in general is contagious. I have certainly gained a great deal from him. A trip through his blog is a lesson unto itself. So check it out...
Drove down to Silver Creek last night to get a few falling light shots. It was cold. Something like 43 degrees according to my car. The nighthawks were doing their erratic flying and sandhills were squawking away. Gulls sat on the alfalfa fields. There were no bugs to speak of. The light though, well that's another thing. Despite the cloudless sky, the light was sensational.
Here are a few quick river flow updates: Big Wood--632 cfs and the mean is 1,510 cfs
Big Lost--218 cfs and the mean is 664 cfs
Silver Creek--95 cfs and the mean is 123 cfs
Silver Creek Temperature--58.1 degrees and the mean is also 58.1
Here are some river flow links to check out for yourself. The Silver Creek USGS station also monitors the temperature. Silver Creek: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/id/nwis/uv?cb_00060=on&cb_00065=on&cb_00010=on&format=gif_stats&period=31&site_no=13150430
Here are a few more rising rainbow pics from today:
Here's an 8 frame sequence I took earlier today on the Nature Conservancy. This rainbow was primarily eating midges but every once in awhile a hefty PMD would drift into the wrong lane and get eaten. The wind was blowing and the temps got up to about 52 degrees. I'll post more rising pics later...
I took the photographs of Abby's work for the invitation to her upcoming show. Her work is now up at Gilman Contemporary in Ketchum. She has 9 new pieces up. The opening reception will be this Saturday evening, May 29th, starting at 5 PM. Here's the link to Gilman Contemporary: http://www.gilmancontemporary.com/ It's great stuff and worth stopping by Gilman Contemporary.
Here's a link to a past post of mine which shows two other shots of her work: http://nickpricephotography.com/blog/2010/5/8/abby-grosvenors-art.html
OK, here are a few from tonight. This single fallen leaf was incredibly green. I am wildly colorblind and still managed to pick it out. I underexposed a stop and a half and done deal. I have been trying to shoot 7 days a week and post a few as well. At the moment the Big Wood is flowing at 811 cfs. The historical mean for today is 1460. With the COLD weather we are having--supposed to snow tomorrow--the Wood will likely drop before it heads back up again. Stay tuned, for the Wood could be quite fishable next Saturday for the opener.
Sitting here on the Wood River down the street from my house taking some long exposures of the river. Cold. No bugs on the river. Two feet of visibility and the river is still gaining in volume. Here's a pic from my iphone:
So just what does the Little Wood look like right now? It looks very enticing. Clear water. Nobody around. Wildflowers and green grass. Lots of ticks--dogs seem to act as tick vacuums. Plenty of wind too. Conisistent wind, the kind that can take your favorite hat to Rocky Boy, Montana. All of this for a dozen or so brown trout that may or may not crest 12 inches? That's right. It's the best time of year to be in the desert regardless of the fishing. It's worth the trip down there if for nothing else than to get lost in the myriad of dirt roads and to see some small but vibrant wildflowers, donate a hat to Rocky Boy and to perhaps catch a few colorful brown trout.
The sky lately has been big in many ways. From menacing thunderheads to small puffy high contrast cumulous clouds. It's just a great time to be out poking around. Here's a shot from today taken from a tripod on top of my car:
Took a walk down to the Big Wood last night around 9 PM. It's amazing how light it is after 9 PM. Summer is on the way! The river is still on the rise and has decent clarity. With wet weather in store through at least Sunday, we should be seeing a steady rise in the flow. This much needed rain is certainly helping our flows and it's also greening up our hills. Phlox, blue stemmed grass and arrowleaf balsamroot are all starting to pop on the south and south west facing slopes in Hailey and south.
Thought I would add two black and white shots from today. Here they are...
No pictures of the Little Wood today but a few shots of the desert. I usually have black and white in mind when I do landscapes but the green is so strong at the moment, even in the desert, I resisted the temptation. The water on the Little Wood has come down--probably due to agricultural use--and is very clear. Unfortunatley the Little Wood is mainly a dink fest with a respectable brown hard to come by. The Big Wood has seen a bump in flow and clarity. It's running a bit off color and 775 cfs at the time of writing this.
Just got back from a quick spin down to Silver Creek hoping to capture some rising fish. Well..., the wind was blowing and there were no rising fish but a few PMD's were fluttering around on the water post emergence and I netted a few. I used a 105 2.8 macro with a focusing rail.
As I was leaving a small thunderhead was developing above the Nature Conservancy. I took a few quick clicks of the cloud. The virga--rain evaporating in the air before it hits the ground--reminded me of smoke and that's how I tried to capture it.
Here is Linda, the owner of the 4 Winds Saloon. I have been wanting to stop in for a long time and finally had my chance. Her family bought the bar in 1972. It's in Butte City which is just east of Arco, Idaho. During the day she works as a laborer at one of the Idaho Nuclear Lab sites. The folks in the 4 Winds were more than affable, in fact, we even got a two song guitar performance by Greg, a long time patron. I asked Linda how many people over the years she had to kick out of the bar. Her response was a smile and a walk to the bartender side where she quickly whipped out a menacing stick and struck the top of the bar. She did so adeptly too. She told of the people she's used the stick on over the years. I am glad I am not one of those... Her hat read, "4 Winds Bitch."
On the fishing front, Zac Mayhew and I floated the Beaverhead yesterday. Despite the beautiful weather the fishing was SLOW. 230 cfs and caddis but very few fish eating for us...
Here's Poindexter Slough. Not a whole lot was going on. Just a few caddis fluttered around. Didn't see a fish feed on the surface.
I just added an iphone picture gallery to the galleries section of this site. I'll be adding to it periodically. I am heading off to the Beaverhead this afternoon for a couple of days. Weather is improving over there and here and there has apparently been a bunch of caddis and baetis on the Beav. We'll see...
The clouds this May have been outstanding. Yeah, it's been windy, a bit wet and a bit colder than normal. Why not shoot black and white?
Also, for Steelheaders all over and especially in Oregon, great news: The Gold Ray Dam on the Rogue River is scheduled to be taken down. It's 106 years old and roughly 157 miles upstream from the mouth of the Pacific. Here's a link to an article on it: http://waterwatch.org/
Spent another beautiful evening at Silver Creek. Ran into a rather old cow moose. Plenty of grey hair on her back and had some difficulty walking. There seem to be a lot of moose sightings at the moment within the Nature Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy held a meeting yesterday at the Preserve Cabin which was very well attended. Mark Hill of Ecosystem Sciences Foundation out of Boise spoke and presented a slide show. The Nature Conservancy has teamed up with Mark to develop a holistic watershed enhancement plan for the entire Silver Creek watershed including tributaries. He showed a past project of his in the Owens Valley in California and how by pushing cattle and agricultural fields off the stream banks of watersheads, the streams run deeper, cooler and faster with far healthier streamside vegetation. His slides served as good examples of how certain management policies really do help a watershed. Siltation and water temps are two of the issues he discussed regarding Silver Cr. In any event, if you have further questions contact Dayna, the preserve Manager or check out their site: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/idaho/preserves/art20609.html