A Ketchum, Idaho Home

I recently wrapped up a shoot on a beautiful mid-valley home on the banks of the Big Wood River. This house was a pleasure to shoot in many ways. Below are a few of the images:

Silver Creek Preserve

Like it or not but smoky skies are our new norm in South Central Idaho for August. Evenings take on a surreal cast. Mornings have a pungent and palpable air. Hoppers flicker through the tall grass and waves of tricos still clutter the air near the water's surface. Nightime temps can even be cool as the higher elevation aspen groves take on hints of yellow. Sandhill cranes now ply the skies and garble loudly. Cranes are, when in a group, referred to as a sedge, which is just right in my mind. August does not so much gasp for air as it does settle low and warm in an unhurried rush of late afternoon cumulous clouds eventually overtaken by the great blur of a giant swath of smoke...

Sun Valley Fly Fishing Guide

Below, Sun Valley area guide, Zac Mayhew, ties on something special during an evening on Silver Creek. It's one thing to guide all day and go home and clean up the best way a guide can and it's another thing to guide all day and then turn around and guide the evening as well. It's another thing too, to guide 50 more consecutive days. It takes a passion for teaching and being on the river to dedicate a life to this. Zac is a guide in the Sun Valley, Idaho area who has the crazy amalgamation of ingredients it takes to make a really good guide.

Gannett, Idaho

On my way home from Silver Creek yesterday evening, while driving north on Gannett Road, I passed a man and a horse alongside the road, hit the breaks, backed up, parked alongside the road and walked over and introduced myself. His name was Carlos and he was breaking a one year old horse--a colt--and allowed me to take images for about thirty minutes until he and his horse walked behind stacked one-ton bales of hay and disappeared. Below are a few of the images:

Fly Fishing Guides

Guides Zac Mayhew and Cody Catherall look for a soon-to-be lost fly, aka a needle in the haystack. This is a moment we all go through as fly fishing guides but up until this point I had never captured the moment. I was busted too, after I was caught taking the shot. Silver Creek, Idaho.

Idaho Grayling

Here's an image of, for me at least, a rare Idaho grayling caught on the upper Big Lost River watershed yesterday. While this guy probably did not exceed 10", it was a beautiful little specimen. We were lucky enough to have caught two of these yesterday. I have now seen 6 grayling in my 20 years of guiding this South Central Idaho area.

Grayling. Upper Big Lost River Watershed.

Simms G3 Guide Boots

Below is not my typical image. There's no question that the Simms G3 Guide Boots are my absolute favorite wading boot I've ever owned (I don't get them for free and I'm not paid to say this). They still don't last long enough though. Below is a shot of a new boot and a newly retired boot. I wear through just over 2 pairs of these a year. That's about 120 days of use per pair of boots. I always purchase poly cord to replace the laces that come with the boots as the poly cord I purchase seems to outlast the regular laces at least 4x.

I've never recorded how many days of use a pair of wading boots lasts for me, but today is day number 1 on a new pair and I'm curious how long I can push them. A use day to me is anytime I get in them. I have approx. 30 more consecutive guide days and then I'll take a day off. My boots are always wet between late May and Halloween. Will this pair last from now (July 16) until Halloween which will be about 100 guide days? I'll post a shot on Nov. 1st and we'll see...

 

 

Fly Fishing Sun Valley

It's mid-July now and our rivers here in South Central Idaho are running cold and clear and many of the big-bug hatches have played themselves out. As a courtesy of our wet year, the mosquito population is prolific. We have water though and our temps have been on the cool side and two cuttings of alfalfa have already been put down, dried and baled and barley near Picabo, Idaho waves out loud in the afternoon wind. Below are a few shots of small water not too far from Sun Valley, Idaho...