Here's Blanton Mcgee getting it done. No bugs, but that doesn't matter...
Another Spectacular Silver Creek Night
No bugs though... Actually I saw two brown drakes and they were both eaten by fish. I ended up staying until 1 AM or so to capture a 70 minute star trail exposure. I wanted Silver Creek and the north star in the frame. It was a balmy 41 degrees when I left. No mosquitoes.
More pics to come...
Silver Creek Update
After a few consecutive nights at Silver Creek I took the night off and apparently a few bugs emerged late last night... Don't know as I was not there. In any event, I just got back from poking around the Creek. Windy and scattered thunderheads. I didn't see a single bug in the grass. I looked from the Picabo Bridge all the way upstream to the Willows. Here are a few shots from this afternoon:
Lupine
Silver Creek
The good news is there were mosqitoes tonight, fierce ones, and that means it is getting warmer. The bad news is there were mosqitoes tonight and I had short sleeves on. I did see a few prairie caddis. Just a few. I left the creek around 9:30 PM and heard someone say they saw one brown drake. I didn't see one. The forecast is for cooler and wet weather again. Even freezing overnight temps in Ketchum later in the week. Maybe we'll have a June 25th brown drake emergence with nobody around?
Here's a single frame from tonight:
Brown Drakes???
I have been getting emails, texts, and phone calls inquiring as to when "it" will happen. I spent about 4 hours on Silver Creek today and have yet to see a brown drake. I did, though, take a few macro shots of brown drake nymphs.
Really, anyone's guess as to when brown drakes will start is as good as mine. I will say, though, that being there for the first strong night is often my best night. Last year is ceratinly similar to this year and in my journal for last year I have the first solid night--there was a weak night at the end of May--of brown drakes on June 8th. Given that, any night now...........
I also took advantage of the sky today and tried 5 exposure HDR.
Two Sides of The Fence. That's my title for this one.
And 1 black and white...
Updated River Flows
OK, much has changed in the two or so days since I posted water levels. It has been RAINING. It's not at the moment but it's slated to continue off and on at least for the next 5 days. Much like last June, going into May we had a low snowpack and it was looking like a drought year. Well..., with the consistent rainfall and cooler temps our water situation is looking much less dire. I am not an irrigator, and will say our water situation is not dire at all. Spring green is abundant and the wildflower show we had last year is likley to happen again. Here's the river scoop as of now:
Big Wood: 2,310 cfs and rising FAST. The clarity is gone. The snow levels have gone way up and as a result the rain has been pouring on high elevation snow which greatly increases runoff. The historic mean flow is 1,600. The advanced hydrologic predictions embedded within the USGS site have the Wood peaking today. With more rain possible, I think we are likely to see the Wood continue to go up beyond today...
Big Lost: The Lost was sitting at 200 cfs two days ago and fishing well, very well. The reservoir is just about at capacity and the flow has increased to 426 cfs. If you are thinking of heading that way, keep a close eye on the flow as it's likely to keep heading up as the water flowing into the reservoir has gone way up.
Update: The Lost has gone up to 1,100 CFS and is for all intensive purposes blown... Could be awhile before it drops to fishable levels again.
Silver Creek: Less prone to flow fluctuations, Silver Creek is sitting just above the mean flow at 144 cfs and brown drakes are just around the corner... Pmd's and baetis yesterday but the wind may have taken them to the Madison River after they emerged.
Here's a shot of the Lost on Tuesday when the flow was 200 cfs.
Silver Creek Sunset
Drove down to Silver Creek this evening hoping to see some bugs and to perhaps get out of the all-day rain. The wind stopped blowing around 8:45 PM and there was not a brown drake or caddis or anything else I could see in sight. A few red winged black birds hunted for bugs. A pair of sandhill cranes let out their pre-historic cackles and moved on. A small fish occasionally broke the surface. I ran into a couple from Salmon hoping to catch a night or two of brown drakes. And then the sun went down...
Muskrat near the Picabo bridge.
Aerial View of Unknown Lake
Here's a shot of a lake I don't know the name of taken on Monday while flying out of the Middle Fork of the Salmon. The reflection of the clouds and the lone boat struck me. I did not notice a single road leading to the lake.
Well...Here's a quick river update: The Wood is gaining volume fast and loosing clarity as well. At the moment, it's flowing at 1,010 cfs. I'd say it's still fishable in certain spots, but will not be for long. The historic mean for today is 1,550 cfs.
The Lost is still flowing at an unprecedented level for this time of year: 206 cfs. It's historic mean for today is 892 cfs. Mackay reservoir is full and essentially what is flowing in is flowing out. So...any big change in the flow on the Upper Lost or an agricultural call for more water should bring the Lower Lost's flow up substatntially. For now though, it's an early season bonus.
Silver Creek is flowing just about on par for this time of year at 120 cfs. Hatches have been spotty but over all decent fishing. Pmd's and baetis plus small terrestrials have been the ticket. Brown drakes are what many of us are waiting for on the lower river--below the highway 20 bridge. It's been cool and wet and could really come off any day now. While it gets pretty crowded, if you have never witnessed the brown drakes, it is absolutely worth checking out. The hatch can be face tickling prolific! For me, brown drakes is the official start of summer.
Pronghorn
These pronghorn antelope were grazing an alfalfa field as I happened by in the Camas Prairie. When I stopped to try and take a few shots I expected them to take off. Instead, two of them grew curious and slowly walked toward me. I took this shot through the front passenger window. As I tried to slowly open my door and sneak up to the top of my car for a better vantage point they quickly turned and high tailed it.
More Middle Fork of The Salmon
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.
Middle Fork of The Salmon
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
Moving Water On The Big Wood
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.
Additional Fallen Light Shots & Moose Peterson
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...
Last Light On Silver Creek
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.
Water Levels & More Rising Trout
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:
Rising Rainbow Sequence
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...
Abby Grosvenor's Art
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
Big Wood Long Exposures
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.
Evening On The Big Wood
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:
Little Wood River
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.